Ex-Gunner wants to stay in England

Arturo Lupoli, once one of Arsenal's brightest prospects, aims to finally make a name for himself in England.

The Italian striker who is currently on loan at Sheffield United from Serie A side Fiorentina, told skysports.com: "If there was a good chance to stay in England I would love to stay here because I am enjoying my football."

Lupoli left Arsenal in 2007 on a free transfer to join the Florence-based oufit. He had spent four years at Highbury and went on loan to Derby after his good goalscoring record at reserve level. On his return to Arsenal he found his options limited and decided to go back to his homeland.

At Fiorentina, with strikers Alberto Gilardino and Adrian Mutu in hot form, Lupoli has again found it difficult to break into the first team. He joined Norwich on loan earlier in the season, scoring two goals, but now has an opportunity with the Blades to show what he can do.

Lupoli scored in the steel city derby against Sheffield Wednesday earlier this month and will hope for more opportunities in the first team.

Lord Coe joins 2018 World Cup Bid team

It was announced today that the man who helped to bring the 2012 Olympics to London, Lord Coe, will give an added push to England's 2018 football World Cup bid.

Sebastien Coe has taken up his role as a non-executive board member but he will continue in his role in the Olympic team.

Coe said: "Winning the World Cup would be the hat-trick in a golden era for the UK following the Olympics in 2012 and the Commonwealth Games in Glasgow 2014."

Great Dane starting to make an impact?

Nicklas Bendtner has not always been at the top of the list of Arsenal fans' first-choice strikers, but things are starting to change.

The 21 year-old Dane has been on a good run of form recently. Having been misquoted by some sections of the press at the weekend, which published that he said he should be playing every game, he formed a good partnership with Eduardo on Monday night, scoring a headed goal from a corner.

This goal takes his tally to 9 for the season, equalling his goals scored for the whole of last season. He has also made more starts than substitute appearances this season, showing Wenger's faith in the forward. Bendtner has now scored 18 goals in 34 starts for the club, which on the face of it is an impressive strike rate.

Bendtner has found himself deployed in wider positions than normal of late, but he said: "Obviously it's not my favourite position but I'm happy to do a job there if the boss asks me to. When I look back though I think I have done quite well there so it's been good for me, it's helped me develop as a player."

With Emmanuel Adebayor out and Eduardo still regaining full-match fitness, Bendtner may be given more opportunities to add to his tally in the next few games.

Arsenal could face Hull or Sheffield United in the quarter-finals of the cup

Arsenal have been handed a home draw in the quarter-finals of the FA Cup against either Hull or Sheffield United provided they can beat Cardiff and Burnley.

The Gunners have been playing catch-up in the cup as their sceduled replay against Cardiff two weeks ago was postponed due to heavy snow in the London area. They face the Bluebirds tomorrow night with a home tie against Burnley at stake.

If Arsenal can overcome the two Championship teams they will play another in the form of Sheffield United in the quarter-final provided they can overcome Premiership opposition in the shape of Hull.

Arsenal fans would prefer Sheffield Untied to visit the Emirates seeing as they beat the Blades 6-0 earlier this season in the Carling Cup. Hull on the other hand beat Arsenal 2-1 at the Emirates this season.

The next seven games are crucial to Arsenal's season

After a credible 0-0 stalemate at White Hart Lane last Sunday with ten men, Arsenal remain five points behind Chelsea in fourth spot and seven behind Aston Villa in third. Arsenal fans the world over are understandably concerned that their beloved club will not make it into the all important top four, which brings with it Champions League football.

The next seven games are vital to Arsenal's season. First of all let's look at our competitors fixtures:

Aston Villa's next seven games are:

Chelsea (H)
Stoke (H)
Manchester City (A)
Tottenham (H)
Liverpool (A)
Manchester United (A)
Everton (H)

Villa play the remaining clubs in the top four during this period and play host to Everton who are impressing in fifth place, Tottenham who are improving and Stoke who are fighting for their Premiership status. They also face a difficult trip to Manchester City who on their day could beat anyone.

Chelsea's next seven fixtures are:

Aston Villa (A)
Wigan (H)
Portsmouth (A)
Manchester City (H)
Tottenham (A)
Newcastle (A)
Bolton (H)

On paper, these fixtures look easier than Aston Villa's. Difficult trips to Villa, Portsmouth, Tottenham and Newcastle, are all traditionally difficult places to visit. Home games against Wigan, Manchester City and Bolton shouldn't cause too much trouble but Chelsea's home form has been erratic so far this season. The Blues also have the added problem of not currently having a manager as Phil Scolari was sacked yesterday.

Arsenal's next seven games are:

Sunderland (H)
Fulham (H)
West Brom (A)
Blackburn (H)
Newcastle (A)
Manchester City (H)
Wigan (A)

The four home games are 'must win' fixtures but Arsenal would feel confident that they can. Away games against West Brom, Newcastle and Wigan could cause some problems, but Arsene Wenger would probably hope to come out of this period unbeaten.

With Aston Villa facing difficult games ahead and managerless Chelsea also facing a tough period, the next seven league games will make or break Arsenal's season, you would feel if they have not caught up by the time they've played Wigan at the JJB Stadium, their season would be over

So Wenger has purchsed the "special talent" he has been looking for, but what will Arsenal get?

Andrey Arshavin has officially signed for Arsenal after a day of protracted negotiations. It was on, then off, then on again and finally Arsenal have their man.

Arsene Wenger and the Arsenal board are generally very reluctant to spend big money unless the player is worth it, so should Arsenal fans be excited at the prospect of the 27 year-old Russian racing through the Tottenham defence this weekend?

The video below showcases a compilation of the Russian's undoubted talents. The directness and penetration that the Russian possesses has been lacking in the Arsenal team since Theo Walcott and Thomas Rosicky suffered injuries, and he could become the key to gaining ground on the top four.

Arsenal sign Russian wizard

Arsenal have confirmed the signing of Russian playmaker, Andrey Arshavin for a reported fee of £15 million from Zenit St. Petersburg

The 27 year-old passed a medical and agreed personal terms on Monday after Arsenal and Zenit agreed a fee, however the move was still in question overnight as the paperwork needed to complete the deal had to be rubber-stamped by the FA. This was duly finalised this morning and the Russian is free to join his new team-mates at London Colney for training.

Arshavin rose to stardom at Euro 2008 producing scintilating displays against Sweden and Holland. He also helped Zenit to win the 2008 UEFA Cup alnd has been on Arsene Wenger's radar for a long time.

Wenger said, on Arsenal's website "“We are delighted to have signed Andrey Arshavin, he is a player I have admired for a long time. He is a versatile player with great experience, who will add real quality to our squad. Andrey is an exciting impact player with a huge amount of ability and has been an influential force with both Zenit St Petersburg and the Russian national team in recent seasons.”

The Russian said of his move to the Emirates, "I am so happy to be joining Arsenal. They are one of the leading football clubs in the world, with a group of fantastic young players and a great manager. I am looking forward to making the Arsenal supporters happy and helping this great Club win trophies."

The signing could be seen as a major coup for the Gunners with Arshavin attracting attention from other heavyweights such as Barcelona last summer. It is also the first deal finalised by Ivan Gazidis, Arsenal's new Chief Exectutive.

Arshavin will wear the no.23 shirt as his favoured no.10 is currently worn by William Gallas.