It looks very bad

I can't say anything as Wigan beat us and beat us well last week but to lose at home to Wigan is awful. I know they are improving but still.

:lol: the amount of abuse RvP has gotten this morning for apparently not shaking Caldwell's hand is amazing. So many people complaining about a lack of class it's hilarious.

If indeed its true it is classless. If Nasri wasn't a gunner when he snubbed Gallas (if he wasn't playing for spurs) you'd have said the same.

Lol. That gif was made by an arsenal fan wasn't it? Cuts about 3/4 seconds before hand where RVP does ignore him.

Actually was made by a United fan.

Heh. Point remains, it does cut the bit where he actually snubs him.

He may snub him, which would probably have a lot to do with the little tiff they had just before the final whistle. But at least he then offered his hand eventually, he made up for it imo. But Caldwell is just pathetic. Like seriously only kids do what he's doing there and I don't blame Robin for then pushing him away.

Lol. RVP doesn't even offer his hand for a proper handshake. People may be overreacting to what RVPs done, but I don't see how you can say Caldwell is in the wrong.

On that basis unfounded accusations, RVP held his hand out. Felt he was too much of a professional in any case.

Duno wtf went on though, it was like handshake-chicken.

Although Funky has said Robin initially snubbed Caldwell. Haven't seen it myself, but if that's the case it would've been because of the tiff they had right before final whistle where Robin was visibly angry, in which case if he did snub him I think him then offering it makes up for it. I mean I can understand him initially snubbing Caldwell right after the final whistle

[size=6]Ashcroft wins Groundsman of the Year award[/size]

Arsenal’s Paul Ashcroft has won the Barclays Premier League's Groundsman of the Year award.

The Sports Turf Research Institute has revealed its findings after looking at playing surfaces in all the professional leagues in England.

Ashcroft, head groundsman at Arsenal, said: "It is fantastic news, my team and I have worked very hard this year. It's been a tough year, we have had plenty of games, but the weather has been on our side, and overall it has been a very successful year.

"The standard of groundsmanship in the Barclays Premier League is very high, it is probably the best in Europe, so to win this award is fantastic."

Ashcroft has worked for the Club for more than 11 years and says that the move to Emirates Stadium, while providing different challenges, has helped the ground staff stay ahead of the game.

"Highbury had open corners, and the stadium wasn't as big," he said. "The technology we had was a lot older, whereas now we have come to a new stadium, a new pitch structure with an artificial lighting system and that has helped us create probably a better playing surface than we had at Highbury.

"Arsenal have always invested in our budgets and helped us try to keep ahead of everyone else. That enables us to buy equipment and different products to stay ahead of people. We are very grateful for their continued support."

In a report, Dr Stephen Baker, Head of Soils and Sports Surface Science, praised the standard of Premier League pitches, saying they were "all to a very high standard".

Dr Baker noted that the participation of Arsenal in the UEFA Champions League had added to the usage of the pitch, but said that the Emirates surface had received the highest marks.

Four other clubs were highly commended for the work of their groundsmen: Jonathan Calderwood (Aston Villa), Terry Forsyth (Liverpool), Andrew Tylly and Mick Curran (Newcastle) and Darren Baldwin (Tottenham).
http://www.arsenal.com/news/news-archive/ashcroft-wins-groundsman-of-the-year-award

[size=6]Arsenal sign up for the NextGen Series[/size]

Arsenal Football Club is delighted to announce that it will be participating in next season’s ‘NextGen Series’, the elite European youth competition.

The tournament, which proved to be a huge success in its first season, is an exciting youth competition which features the next generation of world-class players who have been trained and nurtured by 24 of the greatest clubs in Europe.

The Gunners join Olympiacos, Paris Saint-Germain and Chelsea as the fourth new club to sign up for the second season of the Series.

The NextGen Series is an Under-19s competition with three squad members able to be over this age limit. It gives players and their clubs the chance to take part in a challenging six-month international competition, commencing with a group stage and culminating in a one-off final in March 2013 to win the NextGen Series trophy.

The winners of the inaugural NextGen Series were Inter Milan, who beat Ajax on penalties in the final played in March at Leyton Orient’s Matchroom Stadium in London.

The NextGen Series starts again in August, and Arsenal will join famous clubs such as Barcelona, Inter Milan, Ajax, Sporting Lisbon, Olympique Marseille and Celtic, as well as English clubs Chelsea, Liverpool, Manchester City, Aston Villa and Tottenham Hotspur.

Arsenal manager Arsène Wenger said: “We are excited about joining the NextGen Series next season. It’s a very good challenge to confront yourselves with the best young players in Europe.

"We have spoken to Inter Milan, who practiced at our training ground ahead of a NextGen match, and they said their players improved tremendously through the season because of the quality of the competition.

"You play against the best players of your age and it will be a very interesting experience for us. It’s also a good way to assess your players and to give you an idea of the future potential of the Club.”

Head of Youth Development at Arsenal, Liam Brady said: “We are delighted to be involved in the NextGen Series and are looking forward to participating in the competition. It will provide our young players with fantastic experience against high-quality opposition from around Europe.

"We always try to give our young players wider experience through participating in international tournaments, but NextGen takes this to the next level. We watched NextGen this season with great interest and the standard of competition was very high and will therefore offer a good challenge to our young players.”

Commenting on Arsenal’s participation in next season’s NextGen Series, Justin Andrews, the tournament’s co-founder said: “Arsenal have one of the finest youth academies in the world, it is brilliant news to be adding them to the list of Europe’s most distinguished clubs. We are very excited to be taking NextGen into its second year and hope to continue with the success of the inaugural season.
http://www.arsenal.com/news/news-archive/arsenal-sign-up-for-the-nextgen-series

The Jack news is no surprise. I think we all knew he was never going to make it back for the end of the season and him not going to Euro's is a good thing.

As for tonight, I'd like to see something like this



That's what I'd go with although I think it may be Santos at LB and Ramsey in the middle. I think if Ox does start it'll be on the left but I'd like to see him in the middle.

I'm not really interested in the side we put out. We all know what it's going to be. What I'm interested in is what players Chelsea rest and what team they put out.

Edited by sydneycroatia58: 21/4/2012 12:48:51 PM