Ryo Miyaichi completes move to Arsenal

Arsenal Football Club is delighted to announce that young Japanese forward Ryo Miyaichi has joined the Gunners on a long-term contract.

18 year-old Miyaichi has just completed taking part in the All Japan High School Soccer Tournament in his home country, where he represented Chukyodai Chukyo High School.

In order to gain valuable experience, Miyaichi has joined Dutch Eredivisie side Feyenoord on loan for the remainder of the 2010/11 season to further develop his game.

Arsenal Manager Arsène Wenger said: “We’re delighted that Ryo Miyaichi has joined us. He trialled with us in the summer and has raw ability which has attracted many clubs around the world. We wish him luck in Rotterdam with Feyenoord and we look forward to helping him with his continued progression when he returns to Arsenal.”

Everyone at the Club welcomes Ryo to Arsenal and wish him the best of luck during his time with Feyenoord.

FA Cup: Arsenal v Huddersfield Town - Preview Wenger: 'We have a good confidence level and a good attitude'

By Richard Clarke

“We can call him a ‘super pioneer’ because he really turned this Club into one that was ready for the modern era. He was ahead of his time and he was certainly the most influential manager.”

Surprisingly those words were spoken by, not about, Arsène Wenger this week.

The Arsenal manager was actually referring to Herbert Chapman, a man who brought the first real success to the newly-installed North London side when he arrived from Huddersfield in the summer of 1925.

The Yorkshireman won four League titles – two with each team – and two FA Cups, the second of which, in 1930, was Arsenal’s first major honour.

The side they beat in that final was Huddersfield Town so the Terriers’ visit to Emirates Stadium on Sunday for a Fourth Round tie in the same competition is heavy with history.

“It is a big tradition,” admitted Wenger at his press conference on Friday. “We even went to play a friendly with them in pre-season [in 2008] on the demand of our chairman because there is a long traditional link between Huddersfield and Arsenal.

“We are a modern club but have as well a big respect for tradition. It has a special meaning because Chapman was the most influential manager at this Club. So we have of course big respect for that.”

The current Huddersfield side are third in League One and gunning for promotion under Lee Clark. They have lost only once in their last seven games and beat Cambridge, Macclesfield and Dover to reach the Fourth Round. Arsenal’s 17-year-old striker Benik Afobe is about to start another loan spell at the Galpharm Stadium but is ineligible for this game because, unlike Sanchez Watt in the last round against Leeds, his deal was not for a full season.

Arsenal have had trouble negotiating Championship sides recently but they have not lost to a side outside the top two tiers since Wrexham in 1992 – which was historic for entirely different reasons.

Wenger’s side is likely to be much-changed from one that beat Ipswich to reach the Carling Cup Final on Tuesday. After that game, the manager said he would like to play one side against Huddersfield and an entirely different one against Everton in the Premier League 48 hours later.

He is a few players short of being able to do that but the return of Tomas Rosicky (sickness), Abou Diaby (calf), Manuel Almunia (ankle) and Sebastien Squillaci (hamstring) means he has more options at his disposal.

The Spaniard’s comeback after fourth months out is particularly intriguing given that, on Friday, Wenger said Wojciech Szczesny was the current No 1 and the gloves were his to lose. A decision on Sunday’s custodian will be made on the morning of the match.

This will be the ninth game of a massive January for Wenger’s side in every sense. In their 124 years, Arsenal have never played so many matches in the first month of the year. And, apart from a goalless draw with Manchester City in which they dominated, Wenger’s men have a 100 per cent record. Remember they may have lost to Ipswich and drawn with Leeds in individual games but the won both ties.

In those eight games they have conceded just three times (all in cup competitions) and have scored 16 goals – including three in each of their last four games.

“That's a consequence of our style which is always trying and go forward and score goals,” said Wenger. “Some periods we are a bit less successful at doing it. But not now.”

It may be ‘only’ the Carling Cup to some but Arsenal’s players have had a sense of euphoria all this week. How can you dismiss a trophy you have never won? Or, for many of them, how can you dismiss a trophy when you have never won one at all?

But one thing is certain - Arsenal’s season will not be judged on the Carling Cup alone when they are Manchester United’s closest rivals in the Premier League and the Champions League is in the Knockout Stage. That does leave two questions of course. Where does the FA Cup fit in? And can Arsenal realistically go for all four trophies?

“Well quadruple is not a bad word,” said Wenger, answering the second part. “It is a very good word but, of course, we are far from that.

“What is good is that we are involved in all competitions and we are hungry to do as well as we can.

“What can we do? We don't know. But we are happy because we won our last game. We are on a good run and feel we have a good confidence level and a good attitude in the whole squad.
“We are getting stronger and stronger, so this is what we want to do.

“Of course if we are involved in the four competitions we need a super-realistic approach, focus on the next game and just try to win it.

“You build the confidence in the team slowly and you lose it very quickly. One big bad result and you are down very quickly. So it's important to keep our feet on the ground and to show we have learned from Leeds and Ipswich how difficult these games can be.

“But the FA Cup is very important for us. Did you see the team we played at Leeds? That just means it has an importance, we could have gone to Leeds and said ‘OK, we go with a reserve team’.

“But we went with a first team squad and we had everybody fired up and playing. We had to fight to qualify and so we focus on Huddersfield right now.”

Of course, those were Wenger’s words but they could have easily come from Chapman.

It seems the ‘super-pioneer’s' legacy is in good hands.

Denilson - We must all take responsibility

Denilson has called for every Arsenal player "to take responsibility" as they chase silverware on four fronts this season.

The midfielder has been in the news this week after telling Brazilian TV that Cesc Fabregas was "not a leader". Speaking to the Official Arsenal Programme, Denilson clarified his comments in that interview and urged his team-mates to work together in the months to come.

"I want to tell everyone that I never said that Cesc Fabregas is a bad captain," said Denilson. "I never spoke about him [like that] because I like him and respect him, as I do all of the players.

"Sometimes the papers change a conversation and you never know whether it’s true. I am honest though, and when I came to the training ground on Wednesday, before going to Leeds on the train, I spoke to Cesc about it. He understood and was fine.

"I basically said that we have 25 players who should all take responsibility - I never talked about Cesc as captain. Unfortunately the papers like to change things. More important than that is to be together as a club. I respect Cesc, all the players and the staff too because we are all working for the same thing.

“This is a very young team, but we have quality, and we are in a very good position. Look at Chelsea – they have many experienced players but they are below us in the table. Cesc is the captain, and I respect him, but I think every single player needs to take responsibility on the pitch too.

“Me personally, I need to continue to work to improve as well. If we want to win this is what we have to do."

Wenger: 'We feel stronger in every game'

On Robin van Persie's form...
He is back in form. He was already fit and sharp last week and overall we had a good team performance so he could finish a hat-trick.

On not taking first-half chances...
The players were a bit frustrated because we did not take our chances but I felt in the first half we played outstanding football. We feel stronger and stronger in every single game. It is interesting the chance we have in front of us because we have an interesting game, the way we play is for me fantastic to watch. Let's just keep going.

On his attacking options...
Of course it is important to have Robin at this level but we have plenty of offensive players. First of all let's hope we can keep him fit until the end of the season. It is down to us to use him in the right proportion of the games we play.

On rotating the squad for Ipswich...
We will rotate, we have no choice. We play nine games in January, it's the most we have ever played. When you look at the fixtures we had in December it means we need to rotate from game to game. But we have fantastic players on the bench and it is very important because we cannot always play with the same XI.

On telling Van Persie when he will be rested...
He handles it alright. He is intelligent but of course he wants to play. He was at Leeds on the bench, he came on and scored.

On his penalty takers...
[Van Persie has] always [been the No 1 penalty taker]. What happened today will not change my mind. I find it's difficult to approve when the ball goes into the stand on the penalty, no matter how tolerant you are! I would have loved the ball to go in the net.

On keeping so many clean sheets...
We look more and more stable and defensively we were questioned a lot on that front. Maybe the fact you [reporters] ask me in every press conference 'do I buy a defender?' it keeps our defenders on their toes.

On the prospect of buying a defender...
I am open-minded on it and if the right opportunity turns up we will take it. We are not desperate, we have Vermaelen who can still play a big part in the end of the season and we have Squillaci who comes back maybe next Sunday. Song can play at the back too.

On finding the right player...
It is not two weeks to make your mind up, it is two weeks to find the right players. It is not just because you want to buy that you find exactly what you need. I think that if you look at the defenders who play the moment - we have Djourou and Koscielny, and Vermaelen who played before - we have always found the right players. Trust us - if the opportunity is there we will take it, if it's not we will play with the players we have, and I will not use that as an excuse if we don't win trophies.

On whether it is worth spending extra this time...
The question makes sense but practically it doesn't work like that. It is not because you have money available that you just find the player available, no? We have the needed money to spend if we want but the players you would want are not necessarily available. At the moment I feel that, unless we have a big problem at the centre back, we can deal with the situation.

On Cesc Fabregas' performance...
I think he was outstanding. At the end of the game he was frustrated because he didn't score but for me the ball he gave for the second goal was absolutely amazing. The second goal I could watch that and watch it and watch it again because it's just pure class from the pass to the finish.

Wenger - Ramsey progress is encouraging

By Chris Harris

Aaron Ramsey is closing on a first-team comeback but Arsène Wenger will not take any chances with the Wales midfielder's fitness following his long lay-off.

The 20-year-old was sidelined for eight months after breaking his leg at Stoke City last February but has made steady progress since returning in a Reserve League match in mid-November.

Ramsey went on loan to Nottingham Forest and, though frustrated by three postponements, completed 90 minutes for the Championship side on January 3. Five days later he was back in Wenger's squad for the FA Cup tie with Leeds but is still waiting to step onto the pitch in an Arsenal shirt.

"[He will play] when he is match fit," Wenger told Arsenal.com.

"He is getting better and better every day so we have to be a bit patient. And worst, he will have to be a bit patient. He has been out for nine months, the most important thing now is not to have any new injuries or setbacks while he is recovering.

“His progress is encouraging but it’s very difficult to say when I will play him.

"He had a setback because he did not have the number of games we expected him to get at Nottingham Forest. It was a very troubled period with a lot of snow and missing games and training. Now he looks better and better every day."

Wenger: 'At least we are still in the Cup'

On a tough FA Cup tie...
I must say at first that it was a very difficult game because it was a real Cup game and Leeds were up for it, they played well. It was the kind of game where you felt that it was important not to go 1-0 down. When we were 1-0 down I felt that Wojciech kept us in the game with a good save on the header [from Becchio]. We looked like we would come back but we were short of time and it was important to keep the momentum and not to go out today because that would have been a shocker.

On nearly scoring a winner...
Even when we equalised we still had three chances at 1-1 but we couldn't take them. At least we are still in the Cup and hopefully we can do it at Leeds.

On the inconvenience of a replay...
It was not exactly the wish I had before the game but it was the second worst wish. The worst would have been to go out. We go to Ipswich on Wednesday, we play West Ham on Saturday and then the replay of the FA Cup is after that.

On facing Schmeichel and Bruce...
Name-wise yes [I felt some deja vu]. I see today that Schmeichel and Bruce had a fantastic games, both Leeds centre backs did. Maybe these two names want to make my life difficult forever!

On how the draw might affect his preparation...
It is a good warning that we got today. But we knew before the game that Leeds went to Old Trafford last year and won, and they had a draw at Tottenham. Overall this team have belief in that competition, from last year certainly. They did very well, were very aggressive but in a good way, not a negative way, they closed us down everywhere and we had problems to pass through their lines. They were dangerous as well and it was important for us not to give a goal away, but we did.

On whether Leeds were more positive than Manchester City...
I don't know what I want to say there. They were positive, they played longer balls but on the second ball they were well-organised, they were quickly on us and maybe our game was not quick enough to get out of their pressure.

On his disappointment at the penalty conceded...
Yes [I was disappointed]. He is a right-footed player, very sharp and we knew that. We should not have dived in. We knew it would be difficult to go a goal down.

On the impact of Cesc Fabregas...
Straight away he gives us something in the speed of the passing that makes our game much quicker and more dangerous. It shows you how important it is to pass and see quickly in midfield.

On more speculation over Cesc's future...
I have a good sense of humour but I don't understand this one. I cannot see how people can say things like that without us knowing it. We have the contract of the player and we would inform you if we would sell the player. We sell nobody.

On leadership...
Fabregas does it. I felt today our game was a bit slow in our passing, we were not sharp in our decision-making, the rest is the credit to Leeds. They stopped us from playing more than [us lacking] leadership. When Cesc comes on he has that vision so even if he is closed down he doesn't have to run too much to make the game quicker.

On the penalty Arsenal didn't get...
I will be faithful to my reputation - I did not see the first one! The second one looked to be a penalty because he pulled Theo back, the first one was impossible to see from the bench.

On Roy Hodgson's departure...
I am shocked because I rate Roy Hodgson as a great manager. It puts our job into perspective because he was Manager of the Year in July. It shows you how quickly we lose our qualities because he had to go six months later. Of course it is a shock and I feel our job suffers today.