Robin Van Persie has ordered Arsenal to forget about pretty football.

The Gunners have not won a trophy since 2005 while often being accused of putting style above substance.

And, ahead of their visit to Aston Villa tonight, striker Van Persie said: “Nobody can play beautiful football all the time.

“When that happens I tell our lads ‘If it’s not happening for you, just try to kill off the game so we can move on’.

“I am still a lover of the beautiful game and always will be but I have become more realistic.

“It is too romantic to think that you can win matches by playing beautiful football alone.

“Barcelona are the exception — and I have to admit they and Arsenal are the only teams that I often watch on TV.”

And Van Persie applies his ‘ugly’ rule to his own goals too.

He added: “I have felt more like a centre-forward recently.

“In the beginning I had to get accustomed to the idea, I was not convinced that I could play in this position.

“Since then I have become clear in my mind, and grown into the role. I enjoy scoring more now these days.

“You can see it from my goals — some come about from willpower pure and simple.

“You can see it in my face, ‘OK, the ball’s got to go in no matter how’.

“I used to think about other options when faced with the goal — looking to find team-mates with a clever pass, going for a hook shot or blasting it. More here at The Sun.

With that off Van Persie’s chest, maybe Arsenal can get on and keep up the good record. Who knows, the Dutch scoring machine may have a point and we’ll certainly see if it produces the goods in the coming games!

There were tears from Thierry Henry today as Arsenal unveiled a bronze statue of the club’s record goalscorer outside the Emirates Stadium.
Henry has been immortalised in familiar goalscoring pose, on his knees, fists clenched, as part of the Gunners’ 125th anniversary celebrations.

He’s joined by two further bronze statues, one of boss Herbert Chapman, who is regarded as the founding father of the club’s success from the 1930s, and a third featuring inspirational captain Tony Adams.
As his statue was unveiled, Henry launched into an Oscars style acceptance speech, complete with tears.

The weepy Frenchman said: “I know I don’t show emotions often. Some of the time some of the press used to kill me for not showing emotion.

“But there you go I’m showing emotion right now for the club I love.

“I just wanted to say thanks to my family for being here, my best friends also, my daughter, my mum.”

Henry bagged 226 goals in his time with the Gunners, helping them lift two Premier League titles and the FA Cup twice. Original article here.

It was a nice tribute by a great club to honour someone like Thierry Henry who gave so much to the Gunners. I’m sure the statue will be admired and cherished for years to come.

Arsenal have reportedly made an enquiry about signing Lyon midfielder Yoann Gourcuff on loan in January.

Gourcuff has been linked with Arsenal throughout the year and was a target for the Gunners during the summer transfer window.

Arsenal boss Arsene Wenger admitted back in October that he decided against signing the France international during the summer over concerns about his fitness.

The 25-year-old has struggled for form this season but is still on Wenger’s radar ahead of the transfer window reopening next month, and according to Goal.com, the north London club have approached Lyon about a loan deal.

Arsenal are said to believe they can help revive the career of the playmaker, who has fallen down the pecking order at the Ligue 1 club this season, and according to the report, the player himself is believed to be open to a short-term move in a bid to regain his place in the France squad ahead of next summer’s European Championships – something which backs up a similar report last week.

Gourcuff recently admitted that he was “very, very happy” to learn that Arsenal were showing interest in signing him. Original article here.

Yoann Gourcuff would be a welcome addition to Wenger’s squad and if the player is happy about moving then it’s a good sign as far as I am concerned.

Petr Czech seemed to have a nightmare with the Gunners as Arsenal beat Chelsea 3-5 at Stamford Bridge.And it was Robin Van Persie who smashed a stunning hat-trick to knock out the blues stone cold.

Van Persie cancelled out Frankie Lampard’s opener before John Terry gave the blues a half-time lead.

But after the break Arsenal were raring to go with Andre Santos levelling the game and then Theo Walcott firing them ahead.

Ex Valencia star Juan Mata held them back with a fantastic long-range effort before Robin Van Persie struck twice in the last five minutes to secure a much needed victory for the Gunners.

It handed Arsenal their first Premier League away win since April and left the home side trailing behind league leaders Manchester City who play Wolves today.

This win spelled misery for the Blues, who have been under siege in the past week.

They have suffered a humiliating defeat at QPR, three red cards, the Terry racism storm, two FA fines and a fan revolt over their stadium plans to boot. Manchester United have also won their game at Everton with a strike by Mexican hotshot Javier Hernández on 19 minutes. This comes as a confidence boost for United after their 6-1 drubbing by noisy neighbours Manchester City.

Gervinho said: “I chose Arsenal because it’s a young group within which I will be able to integrate easily. I could develop more over there. There’s only a few details left to sort out.

“A risk? Not at all. I’m going to Arsenal to play. The best risk to take is to look to score goals and to play a lot.

“In football you have to take risks if you want to win. I’m going to Arsenal to win.”

Arsenal has also snatched Gervinho from under North London rivals Tottenham’s noses who were also interested in the star.

The signing could happen as early as Monday when Gervinho, who has agreed a four-year deal worth £60,000-a-week, returns from holiday.

Nicklas Bendtner Joins Arsenal in 2004

The 23-year-old striker, who joined Arsenal in the summer of 2004, has played just 467 minutes of first-team football this season for the Gunners, with just three league starts compared to the 13 he made last season.

And Nicklas Bendtner, the Danish international is unhappy with his role in the first team moving from striker to the right of midfield.

Nicklas Bendtner – A talk with Wenger

“I need to have a talk with him [Arsène Wenger].” Nicklas Bendtner admitted to Danish television company TV2 this week.

I’m not satisfied with playing on the right wing, which I’ve done more or less all season long.

It’s certainly not the best thing for me but it’s not up to me and sometimes you have to adapt to what the manager says.

Nicklas Bendtner will be hoping to clarify his role at the club ahead of a rumoured ‘clear out’ at the Emirates, with a handful of first-teamers moving on, as Wenger aims to bring silverware back to North London.

With just two goals against his name this campaign, Nicklas Bendtner has failed to force his way into Wengers plans. With other club forwards such as Andrei Arshavin (35 apps, 6 goals) and Marouane Chamakh (27 apps, 7 goals) also falling short of recent expectation, Wenger may chose a new centre forward as a priority during pre-season.

Let’s see if Nicklas Bendtnercan pull it together and produce the goods for the Gunners.

Arsenal may have seen their own title ambitions extinguished following a run of draws, but at least gave their frustrated fans renewed hope next season might just be different.

Arsenal played much better than United with the leaders leaving it very late to mount any type of counter attack. Berbatov came on late as Manchester United tried to pinch a last minute goal. It could have happened but it didn’t.

A disappointed Sir Alex said after the game “In fairness, I thought it was going to be a draw but they got a goal from their only shot on target so it was disappointing.”

On Wednesday the 2nd, Arsenal host Leyton Orient in an FA Cup 5th round replay that Arsene Wenger would have dearly hoped wouldn`t have been necessary. That game will be decided on the night leaving them free to take on Sunderland on the following Saturday in a game where all fans would be expecting a comfortable three points.

Then, on Tuesday March the 8th, it`s the big one as Arsenal travel to the Nou Camp in the hope of securing their passage into the Champions League quarter finals.

At half time in the first leg at the Emirates, few people would have expected Arsenal to have the remotest chance of progressing, let alone be taking a lead into the second leg. Barcelona had simply outplayed them in all departments and took a 1-0 lead into the break courtesy of a David Villa goal.

Arsenal`s second half comeback was incredible to watch as they seemed to get a sense of belief and goals from Robin van Persie and Andrei Arshavin ensured a fully deserved 2-1 victory.

Can they finish the job at the Nou Camp? Beating Barcelona in the manner that they did will ensure that they are not short of belief and confidence but they will still have to deal with a side that many consider to be Europe`s best. Aside from the dangerous Lionel Messi, quality runs right through the side from Victor Valdes in goal to David Villa up front. It`s not uncommon for teams to worry too much about Messi and let his colleagues have too much time and space.

Arsenal can certainly win this but without doubt this will be their toughest test of the season and they will be desperate for their inspirational captain Cesc Fabregas to be fit.

With the Barcelona game completed, there`s the small matter of a home FA Cup tie with Manchester United to contend with on Saturday March the 12th. This assumes of course that Arsenal make it past Leyton Orient.

The result of this game could depend on what teams the two sides field. United have rested key players in this competition while Arsenal tend to field their best side in games like these. With home advantage, you would be expecting the Gunners to progress no matter what.

Arsenal`s final March fixture sees them travel to the Hawthorns to take on West Bromwich Albion. At the Emirates in September, West Brom embarrassed Arsenal with a 3-2 victory and the Gunners will go all out to ensure there are no repeats.

So can Arsenal beat Manchester United in the cup and overtake them in the league? Recent results and the return to form of players such as Robin Van Persie seems to suggest that they can. Crucial to their run in will be the fitness of key players and recent injuries to Theo Walcott and Cesc Fabregas won`t help the cause. This promises to be a dramatic title contest this season and the watch live football on line will be literally unmissable.