Cesc "I’d never speak 1 bad word about AFC; I want Arsenal to be successful as much as every single fan. That’s not why I left, AFC made me who I am today!” AW “The fact that we were quite solid in our defending and were calm under pressure, I liked that!” Chu-Young set to get some game time! Gervinho “away draw in CL is priceless!” Kovacic, Drame Linked!

• Barcelona midfielder Cesc Fabregas denies comments attributed to him writing off Arsenal's title chances.

The Spain international, who returned to his boyhood club this summer, was reported to have told Sport magazine that uncertainty over the Gunners' short-term goals played a part in his decision to leave.

However, the 24-year-old took to his Twitter account on Thursday evening to deny ever making such comments.

He tweeted: "I’d never speak 1 bad word abt AFC, here there's once more prove that so many people put in newspaper wtv they want and it’s not professional.

"I want Arsenal to be successful as much as every single fan. That’s not why I left, it was never in my mind. AFC made me who I am today.

"And nobody will ever change that. I never gave any interview away since my press conference at my presentation and there I just said the truth and what came out of my heart. Great words abt this great football club cause that just what they deserve: success and trophies.

"People can hate me for leaving or remember that I gave my all for the club. But me talking 1 bad word or saying something against AFC will not seen."

• Arsène Wenger has been quick to praise his side’s defensive qualities in Dortmund.

Wenger looked on from the stands as his side battled to a draw against the German champions at Signal Iduna Park and said he enjoyed what he saw from his resilient side.

“The fact that we were quite solid in our defending and were calm under pressure, I liked that,” the boss said.

“At some stage you accept it in the second half, that it will be difficult to combine to get out and that you will be tested defensively. The fact that we came out with some credit is a positive for the season.

“If you want to be successful that is needed in some games. Ideally you want to dominate every game from the first to the last minute.”

The point was greeted well by both manager and players, and Wenger was quick to sing the praises of his side for standing tall and not conceding a second goal on the night.

“At the moment, I feel the team looks for confidence,” he said. “I hoped for a long time that we would win it.

“At the end of the day I know how important it is for the confidence not to lose it. Once you go back to 1-1 with the atmosphere that you have experienced there, you know that you are under threat.

“Just not to concede the second goal shows the mentality of the team. For me, it was positive in the end.”

• Arsenal boss Arsene Wenger believes his players deserve recognition for their efforts away from home.

Arsenal had the best away record in the Premier League last term, losing just four of their 19 fixtures and amassing three more points than the second-best travellers, Manchester City.

"You have to consider that last year we were the best away team in the league, and Old Trafford was a one-off result," he said.

"You cannot take that as a general rule, and what we have achieved over the last few years away from home is what people forget. We put a lot of effort in at Udinese, and lost a lot of players before that game at Old Trafford.

"Blackburn is Blackburn. We have had good experiences and sometimes disappointing ones there over the years. Over the years they have always had good teams. In the Premier League when you go away from home you want a top performance to make the result, but I am confident we can do that.

"You lose confidence quickly with the result we made at Old Trafford, and gain it back slowly. We will try to do that from game to game - work hard for each other and get back. Then the other side of our game will come out."

• Arsenal boss Arsene Wenger has no doubts his late summer signings will all prove themselves.

Wenger added five signings in the week leading up to transfer deadline day, with only South Korea captain Park Chu-Young yet to get some game time, but he is expected to feature at Blackburn Rovers.

The Gunners manager is confident his choices - also bringing in defensive duo Per Mertesacker and Andre Santos as well as Mikel Arteta and Yossi Benayoun - were sound.

"I believe that if you look at the class of their attitude we were right, at their intelligence level we were right and at their quality we were right," Wenger said.

"They need a little bit of time to get to know the other players well and find a balance in the team."

• Arsenal boss Arsene Wenger has no problem with the big wages being paid top players.

Samuel Eto'o is now the highest ever paid athlete thanks to his €20 million-a-year contract with Anzhi.

"I believe you spend the money you have in the club and [give it] to people who deserve it," said the Arsenal manager.

"I am very happy when the players make a lot of money, with one restriction, that the attitude has to be right.

That means you have to show you give absolutely everything to deserve it.

"For the managers it is exactly the same, that you have an honest behaviour towards your club, that means you give everything to justify the money you make. If that money is what the club earns, I am alright with that."

• Arsenal boss Arsene Wenger believes the Champions League will become less and less competitive in the future.

Wenger believes that the pool of clubs capable of winning the Champions League will diminish as wealthy owners enter the sport.

"At the end of the day, you know you will not see the poorest teams winning the Champions League," he said. "That is impossible.

"Money is a very important factor in success, not the only one, because it is also the quality of the work, the length of that work which plays a part. Of course money has a big input, but we will see at the end of the season."

• Arsenal striker Gervinho feels that Tuesday night’s 1-1 draw against Borussia Dortmund in Germany was a decent result despite the late equaliser robbing them of all three points.

The Gunners eventually conceded in the 88th minute at Signal Iduna Park after being under fire for some time from the German champions and Gervinho said it was good to get a point away from home although it did feel like a loss when Ivan Perisic fired home the leveler.

“In the Champions League we did very well by returning from Germany with a draw,” he said.

“Dortmund are a very good team but to concede three minutes from the end was like losing the game.

“In the Champions League, if you can win at home, the draw away is priceless.”

Gervinho also said that the Gunners would now look to the Premier League with a vital game against Blackburn Rovers at Ewood Park next on the agenda.

“Now our focus is on the league. We need to keep track of the leaders,” he added.

“We have to win over the weekend and hope Chelsea and Manchester United drop points meeting each other.”

• Barcelona star Cesc Fabregas won't rule out one day returning to Arsenal.

The Gunners insisted on a clause in the Spaniard’s contract allowing them to buy him back if he ever leaves Barcelona, and the midfield ace has refused to rule out the possibility of an emotional return to north London.

He said: “It’s absolutely fine by me [that the clause was inserted into the contract]. I enjoyed my time in Arsenal. I had some great years there. I developed as a player and as a person. I finished there as captain of the club and I will still follow the club and their results.

“I don’t know if it’s realistic that I would return one day. But maybe I said the same when I left Barca, so you never know. If that was the final thing Arsenal needed to agree on to let me go, then I’m satisfied.”

• The agent of Dinamo Zagreb starlet Mateo Kovacic says his client is likely to end up in the English Premier League.

The 17-year old Croatia youth international midfielder is reportedly wanted by Italian club Juventus but his representative Marcel Kacinari insists England is where he will land.

"I will not hide the fact there was interest from Juventus a couple of months ago but nothing since then," Kacinari said.

"It is most likely that he will go to England where the likes of Arsenal and Manchester United are leading the race. Dinamo Zagreb have done business in the past with several Premier League teams.

“Those clubs [Arsenal and Manchester United] are spending a lot of money investing in young talent and have the patience to wait.

"All the major European clubs are following him and with him playing against Real Madrid on Wednesday, the list of suitors will increase."

• Arsenal are watching Padova striker Ousmane Drame.

The Gunners had scouts posted to check on the Serie B striker last weekend.

The 19 year-old has a Mali family background, but carries a French passport and is being watched by Arsenal leading up to the winter market.