Boca Juniors hold Arsenal for a draw

Arsenal's endless summer saga of where Samir Nasri and Cesc Fábregas may ply their trade next paused briefly for a home bow against Diego Maradona's old club before Arsène Wenger, yet again, addressed the issue.

Regarding Nasri, who has a year left on his contract and is interesting Manchester City, Wenger informed him for the first time publicly that he should make a decision. "In the next 10 days it has to be clear on that front. If you ask me, do I want to keep him, I say yes. But he needs to be committed to that as well."

Wenger had included Fábregas in his ultimatum of 10 days, but, pressed on this, he softened the stance. "I don't give them 10 days, the transfer period is until 31 August. Ideally, we go into big games in the next two weeks, so in the next two weeks we need to sort our problems out, but there is no specific deadline of one day or 24 hours."

On Friday, Wenger had stated that, despite Fábregas wanting to leave for Barcelona, he would not be allowed to do so for less than Arsenal's valuation, with the Catalan club so far not returning with an improvement on their £27m bid earlier this summer.

Yet Wenger conceded that Nasri, if he does remain beyond September, could walk away next summer for free. Asked how much of a concern this would be, the manager conceded the point. "It's not ideal for us, of course, on the financial side, but, on the sporting side, he is an important player," Wenger said.

Gervinho's performance in a first-half cameo against Boca had suggested he may prove a vital performer this season. Yet, while the 24-year-old has a directness so chronically missing from these parts recently, Arsenal's concession of a two-goal advantage indicated their old problem of defensive brittleness may yet haunt Wenger's men again.

Once more, Fábregas was not included because of a hamstring problem – he is yet to feature this pre-season and may never again do so – while Nasri lined up in his familiar wide-left berth. This was a starting XI that missed Wojciech Szczesny, Alex Song, Bacary Sagna, Theo Walcott and Kieran Gibbs from the strongest Wenger might field.

At its head was Gervinho, the £11m signing from Lille whose first telling contribution was to create Robin van Persie's opener. Peeling away from his central attacking position to the left, Gervinho took possession from a clever Jack Wilshere pass before pinging in a cross that Van Persie smashed home.

After the break, the substitute Aaron Ramsey smacked home Arsenal's second with his first touch, but the Gunners' flakiness then showed. A mistake by Sébastien Squillaci too near goal allowed Juan Riquelme to find Lucas Viatri, who pulled the first one back for the visitors.

Next, Johan Djourou let Pablo Mouche mug him, then slide home beyond Vito Mannone. Wenger claimed he was not concerned by the lapse, but he has some hard thinking to do on a few fronts.

Credits to:
http://www.guardian.co.uk

Arsenal settle for a draw against Greentown

The Gunners were desperately poor at the back in the first half and fell behind to a goal from Sebastian Vazquez after 16 minutes following a mistake from goalkeeper Vito Mannone.
Carlos Vela continued his impressive pre-season campaign when drawing Arsenal level on the stroke of half-time with a finish from close range, and though the Gunners improved markedly after their manager made 11 changes at the break, they were unable to find a winner in China.
Wenger was adamant earlier this week that his side does not have a weakness in defence, despite evidence to the contrary last season, and his players set about attempting to prove him wrong in an error-strewn first-half performance.
Mannone was forced into making a good save after only two minutes as Arsenal's defence was opened up by a ball over the top - a familiar scenario for the North London club in recent seasons - while Armand Traore also struggled at left-back.
After quarter of an hour, the Gunners were once again exposed as Uruguayan forward Paulo Pezzolano exploited uncertainty between the unconvincing Johan Djourou and Sebastien Squillaci when curling a shot against the base of the post.
Inside two minutes, Hangzhou were ahead. Mannone made a terrible mess of a free-kick and after he fumbled the ball in the box, Vazquez pounced amid a stationary Arsenal defence to slot home the opening goal.
Arsenal grew into the contest slowly and saw Samir Nasri - starting despite persistent speculation regarding his future - go close with a neat volley that flew just wide of the post, but chances were few and far between as the Premier League side struggled for fluidity.
On the brink of half-time though, they found an equaliser. Andrei Arshavin looped a pass over the top of the Greentown defence and after Van Persie's cushioned shot was palmed away by Jiang Bo, Vela was alert to bundle the ball home.
Wenger made 11 changes at half-time and the result was a far more cohesive, energetic performance. Indeed, Arsenal nearly took the lead on 55 minutes when a shot from Aaron Ramsey from the edge of the box threatened to squirm away from the keeper and in.
As Arsenal pressed with much more verve, they continued to create chances and just before the hour mark Ryo Miyaichi laid the ball off to Kieran Gibbs, who saw his low drilled effort palmed away expertly by substitute Gu Chao.
Gibbs was a bundle of energy and on 64 minutes it was his run that resulted in Theo Walcott being played in on the right of the box. His initial shot was blocked and Walcott lobbed the follow-up over the bar. His team-mates, Gibbs especially, were unimpressed.
Walcott was his usual frustrating self but on 78 minutes was unlucky not to score when darting in ahead of his man to meet a cross from Miyaichi and head narrowly over the bar.
Miyaichi and Marouane Chamakh both forced Gu into smart saves in the closing minutes but the Gunners were unable to make a winner materialise.

Credits to: http://asia.eurosport.com/

Vela not leaving Arsenal

Arsenal will not sell Carlos Vela this summer, the Mexico international's agent has claimed.
The 22-year-old was loaned out to West Brom for the second half of last season, but failed to make a major impact, scoring just twice in eight Barclays Premier League appearances.
The pacy Mexican was expected to be one of several players allowed to leave as Arsene Wenger revamped his squad following another campaign which promised so much but failed to deliver.
However, Vela's agent Eduardo Hernandez maintains Vela is still very much part of Wenger's plans. He told ESPN Radioformula in Mexico: "I have had eight conversations with Arsenal, the most recent was last Friday, and Carlos is an Arsenal player, he will stay at Arsenal and is not for sale.
"The process with Carlos is a little bit slow.
"Arsene Wenger is an extremely demanding coach, he sent him on loan for six months to West Brom not with the results he wanted, but, nevertheless, everything is going very well."
Wenger may so far have added only promising young defender Carl Jenkinson from Charlton, but Arsenal are determined to do more business before the summer ends.
Deals for Blackburn defender Christopher Samba and Ivory Coast forward Gervinho are understood to be close to completion, while the arrival of Southampton starlet Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain is expected to be confirmed at the start of July ahead of Arsenal's Far East tour. Everton's £15million-rated centre-half Phil Jagielka is another reported target.
Despite the claims of Vela's agent, there are set to be departures.
Full-back Gael Clichy, the last surviving member of Wenger's Invincibles squad from 2003/2004, is coming towards the final year of his contract, and is expected to leave, with both Liverpool and Roma offering a fresh start, while Denmark striker Nicklas Bendtner is also likely to head for the Emirates Stadium exit door.
Speculation continues over whether France midfielder Samir Nasri will commit to a new deal or be sold, while the future of captain Cesc Fabregas once again is uncertain under renewed interest from boyhood club Barcelona - but not at the £30million offer they made last summer.