- Robin van Persie may be getting all the plaudits at the moment, but the Premier League top scorer is adamant that it is Arsenal’s defence who should be taking the credit for the club’s unbeaten league run.
The win over Everton extended Arsenal’s unbeaten run to eight games, seven of which have been won as 22 points out of 24 have lifted the Gunners back into the top four.
Twelve of Van Persie’s 15 league goals have come in those last eight games, but the Dutchman was quick to pass on the praise to his defence who have conceded just two goals in their last four matches.
“We have been solid at the back for a couple of weeks now, I mean really solid,” said Van Persie. “Lots of things are coming together, and then you know as a forward player that one chance can be decisive.
“On Saturday it was vital to stay on track and get the three points. It was a hard game against a good Everton side and in the end we are very pleased.”
The Gunners captain is usually only too happy to talk about his goals, but on Saturday he was almost bashful about all the praise that has come his way.
“I wasn’t really happy with my own performance, there were too many touches that didn’t go right,” said the 28-year-old who has now scored 19 goals in total this season, and 33 league goals in just 32 starts in 2011.
“The goal? Normally I would have a touch to get it right, it was a bit of a gamble to take it on the volley but it went in off the post, I can’t ask for more than that.
“It was a great pass again by Alex – it’s unbelievable as he is a defensive midfielder but the amount of skill he has is just a dream.”
Now Van Persie is hoping the run can continue against the Premier League leaders Manchester City on Sunday.
“It is a big one,” admitted Van Persie. “City are a really good side, we have no game in midweek so we can relax for a couple of days and then think about that game.”
- Arsenal are likely to conduct a pre-season tour of Nigeria next year following recent positive meetings.
The Gunners usually hold their annual Emirates Cup tournament in the summer but will not in 2012 because of the London Olympic Games and will instead head to West Africa prior to the 2012-12 Premier League campaign.
"Arsenal will tour Nigeria ahead of the 2012-13 season and will play against some selected Nigerian clubs,” Fifa match agent David Omigie said.
Musa Amadu, acting secretary general of the Nigerian Football Federation added: “This visit, I want to observe, will definitely provide a strong platform for a much better relationship between the English Premier League and the Nigeria Premier League.
"Incidentally, the NPL is just returning firmly to its feet after protracted crisis and will welcome tips and suggestions on how to re-position powerfully for the upcoming season.
"It is also important that I mention that some of our football Clubs, particularly those in the Premier League, would welcome some form of technical partnership with Arsenal Football Club."
- Arsenal goalkeeper Wojciech Szczesny says it was nice to win in an ‘ugly’ manner on the weekend.
The Gunners toiled hard for their 1-0 home victory over Everton at the Emirates Stadium on Saturday but the Polish shot-stopper insists that it was not such a bad thing to be pushed all the way.
"We said in the dressing room that it is good to win ugly every now and then," he told Arsenal Player in regards to the win which came about from Robin van Persie’s stunning 70th minute volley.
"We did not create a lot of chances and missed a couple in the first half. But we stuck together and got the all-important winning goal.
"It is vital to win these kinds of games - especially in December when there are a lot of matches and it is easy to drop points."
- Even Arsenal boss Arsene Wenger was left in awe of Robin van Persie's winner against Everton.
Wenger believes the Dutchman’s instincts are natural.
“A professional football player is not always at his top level,” he said. “But the artist within you never dies.
“In a fraction of a second when you keep your focus and don't get nervous when you haven't had the best of games, that makes a difference.
“He waits for the chance to kill the other team. If you panic when you don't play well then you miss these kinds of chances.
“In the end we got an artistic goal from an artist. Give credit to Alex Song as well who gave him a great ball, and Robin scored an exceptional goal.
“It was important to be at the level of the history of the Club, which meant at least to win,” he added. “One nil for Arsenal is quite historical!”
- Theo Walcott feels Arsenal skipper Robin van Persie can become a club legend.
Van Persie hit the winner against Everton on Saturday - just a day after the Club unveiled statues of Herbert Chapman, Tony Adams and
Thierry Henry, the latter of whom is currently training with the squad at London Colney.
Walcott said: "The way Robin is playing, he wants to be one of those legends as well. I'm just absolutely shocked. To see that go in was incredible.
"He's a player in so much form, the goal was amazing and it's just world class to see.
"He would say himself, he was in and out of the game. That's the difference. Give him any chance and he scores when he wants, as the fans say!”
- Arsenal boss Arsene Wenger admits the African Nations Cup will hit his New Year plans.
Both Marouane Chamakh and Gervinho will soon depart for the tournament.
"The problem for us is we lose Chamakh in January, we lose Gervinho in January, and offensively we will be a bit short," Wenger said.
"However, we have Arshavin, and we have [Alex] Oxlade-Chamberlain, who has made great progress already, who can come in. We also have Park, now his adaptation period is over, we will see much more from him in the second half of the season."
- Mikel Arteta feels comfortable in the current Arsenal midfield setup.
Arteta has featured in every available Premier League fixture for Arsenal since his deadline-day transfer from Goodison Park and has added experience as well as an acute understanding of when to sit back and when to attack.
“It depends on how the game is going and on our opponents,” Arteta said.
“I have scored five goals this season already, if you count my two for Everton in August, so I don’t think things are going badly. if I can add to that then it can only help the team.
“We need to make sure people other than Robin are scoring for us, after all!”
- Sunderland striker Nicklas Bendtner had a bit of trouble back in his homeland of Denmark on the weekend.
The 23-year old, on loan from Arsenal, was back in Copenhagen on Saturday as he was nursing a groin injury which kept him out of yesterday’s 2-1 win over Blackburn Rovers and had a run-in at a local pizza shop.
When Bendtner’s credit card didn’t work, he said to the pizzeria staff: "Don't you know who I am? I can buy the whole pizzeria."
A member of the staff told the paper: "We told him that it did not matter who he was. If he could not pay, there was no pizza."
It is believed that two 23-year old girls ended up paying for the pizza before Bendtner, who was reportedly acting in an arrogant manner, jumped into a waiting taxi.
- Arsenal manager Arsene Wenger has made it clear that the club will not pursue Lyon’s Yoann Gourcuff.
The Gunners have been linked with the French midfielder for some time but Wenger has ended any further speculation by saying he will not be making a January loan move.
“He is a player I like a lot and I believe people have been very critical towards him in France,” he said.
“However, we won't be in the winter market for any midfield positions considering that our players are back from injuries."
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