Home Groan

By Aashish Siwan

In September 2009, English Premier League clubs agreed to a “home-grown” player rule. This new rule takes effect from the 2010-2011 season and means that any EPL team must have eight “home-grown” players in their squad of 25.

To qualify as “home-grown”, a player must have been registered in England or Wales for at least 3 years when they were between the ages of 16 to 21 (irrespective of their current age and their nationality), from what I understand of this rule.

What does this new rule mean for Arsenal FC?

Well, we already have a whole host of players who qualify and we will easily make this “home-grown” quota. If I have my data (from Arsenal.com) and calculations correct, the players that already qualify are as follows: 

Squad #. Name	DOB	Date joined AFC
4. Cesc Fabregas	4 May 1987	11 September 2003
11. Carlos Vela	1 March 1989	1 January 2008
14. Theo Walcott	16 March 1989	20 January 2006
15. Denilson	16 February 1988	31 August 2006
17. Alex Song	9 September 1987	12 August 2005
20. Johan Djourou	18 January 1987	1 August 2003
22. Gael Clichy	26 July 1985	4 August 2003
24. Vito Mannone	2 March 1988	1 July 2005
28. Kieran Gibbs	26 September 1989	10 September 2007
30. Armand Traore	8 October 1989	1 August 2006
52. Nicklas Bendtner	16 January 1988	1 August 2004

I have not included Aaron Ramsey in the above list as he is still in the early stages of his long road to recovery but the Welshman easily qualifies.

Listed above are at least six regular first team members (Fabregas, Walcott, Clichy, Denilson, Song and Bendtner). Others like Vela, Djourou and Gibbs have been in and out of the first team in the last year. Traore spent the last season out on loan to Portsmouth and prior to that has also had his chances to impress in the first team. Apart from his stellar 90 minutes away at Fulham last season, Mannone has the least first team experience of this group.

Wojciech Szczesny does also qualify as “home-grown”, but may yet be loaned out next season and Wilshere only misses out as he is just a few months short of his 19^th birthday (which will complete the required three year registration period).         

Taking eight from the 11 above group leaves us room for 17 other first team players (totalling the 25 allowed in the new rule) who can be included in the first team as players who are not “home-grown”. From the current squad, they are as follows:

Squad #. Name	DOB	Date joined
1. Manuel Almunia	19 May 1977	18 July 2004
2. Abou Diaby	11 May 1986	13 January 2006
3. Bacary Sagna	14 February 1983	12 July 2007
5. Thomas Vermaelen	14 November 1985	19 June 2009
6. Laurent Koscielny	10 September 1985	07 July 2010
7. Tomas Rosicky	4 October 1980	23 May 2006
8. Samir Nasri	26 June 1987	11 July 2008
10. Robin van Persie	6 August 1983	17 May 2004
21. Lukasz Fabianski	18 April 1985	26 May 2007
23. Andrey Arshavin	29 May 1981	3 February 2009
27. Emmanuel Eboue	4 June 1983	2 January 2005
29. Marouane Chamakh	January 10 1984	21 May 2010

A total of 23 Gunners are listed in the two groups above. This completes the list of 26 first team players listed on Arsenal.com (excluding Sol Campbell who has joined Newcastle of course). But wait, the new rules state that a squad can only have 25.

Keeping the above scenario in mind, Arsene Wenger’s recent comment on Arsenal.com, about there being “no room to move” in the squad, suddenly makes a lot of sense. He may be forced to let players go in order to bring reinforcements in.

The departures of Fran Merida (Atletico Madrid), Philippe Senderos (Fulham), Eduardo (Shakhtar Donetsk), Mikael Silvestre (released), Campbell (Newcastle) and William Gallas (free agent) would have given Wenger some leeway in terms of registering the 25 required first teamers. On the other hand, there are a number of young Gunners who were out on loan last season who might not be too happy to go out on loan again this season and would rather stake a claim for a spot in the first team. A fitting example being young Szczesny who spent half of last season out on loan to league one outfit Brentford where he put in a string of impressive performances . The confident Pole has made his intentions known but is willing to have a chat to Wenger to explore all his options. Other returning loanees might not be so open and may seek other clubs in search of regular football.

Wenger has concerns about the squad limit of 25 not being sufficient for Arsenal. Given the extensive injury list that the first team has had to cope with in recent seasons, he has a valid point there too. There is respite however. The squad of 25 can be supplemented with an unlimited number of under 21 year olds during the January transfer window. Here’s to hoping that the squad of 25 is sufficient and we have readymade and raring to go replacements in the group of supplement players should the need arise (touch wood, cross all my fingers, polishing up that lucky horse shoe and dusting out the lucky rabbit’s foot).

We should consider ourselves lucky that we have a manager in charge who envisaged this new rule and had been preparing a squad (most of whom have now been playing together regularly for at least a couple of seasons already) just for this new rule. Suddenly Wenger’s policy on young players, effort in building a youth academy and having a relatively young squad is paying dividends while other clubs release senior players (in the case of Chelsea and Joe Cole) to balance their senior squad with youngsters.   

Wenger will have done his sums on how to move this squad forward with the new rule in mind and where exactly any further new arrivals will fit in to balance the squad. The new “home-grown” rule must have featured heavily on Wenger’s mind during this years January transfer window and may explain why only Campbell was brought (back) in when we could have done with a couple more additions.

Only time will tell us who else (if any) is going to join Arsenal for the new season and what qualities they will bring to the squad, which other players (if any) will leave the Emirates and what effect the incoming and outgoing players will have on the squad. Wenger clearly has a few calls to make and a few manager-player one on one meetings to carry out, but trust the manager to have things under control.

I am glad I am not in Wenger’s seat.

Some FAQ’s

Question: Is there a registration deadline?

Answer: Registration deadline is 1^st of September 2010.

Question: What happens if a team cannot name eight home-grown players?

Answer: That team will have to name a smaller squad.

Question: Does this rule also apply to the F.A. Cup, UEFA Cup and the Champions League?

Answer: The rule only applies to Premier League fixtures.

Question: Why has the rule been brought in?

Answer: So clubs promote youth development rather than buy readymade stars.

Question: What happens if a club sustains a long term injury?

Answer: That club can choose from the group of supplement players but special dispensation will be given in exceptional circumstances. If a club were to lose all their goalkeepers to injury say for example.      

**Player DOB and the date they joined Arsenal are courtesy of Arsenal.com.

SC Neusiedl 1919 0-4 Arsenal

By Aashish Siwan

 

Scorers: Walcott 28, Emmanuel-Thomas 30, Chamakh 51 (pen), Vela 65

The second and last match of the Austrian tour kicked off at 5 am this morning at the Sportzentrum Neusiedl. Arsenal started with Manuel Almunia (captain) in goal. Harvard Nordtveit started at right back again and Kieran Gibbs got in at left back. Wenger opted to start Laurent Koscielny and Johan Djourou at centre half. Midfield was once again marshaled by young Jack Wilshere who was flanked by Samir Nasri and Emmanuel Frimpong. Jay Emmanuel-Thomas got the nod at centre forward with Theo Walcott and Andrey Arshavin in support.

This was supposed to be the easier of the two Austrian fixtures with SC Neusiedl 1919 currently competing in the third tier of the Austrian League which is equivalent to the English Conference League and some Gooners (me included) can be forgiven for thinking that this would be a high scoring affair with the Gunners getting most of the goals. But Neusiedl put in a performance equivalent of a lower table Premier League side that put as many men as they could behind the ball defending and a keeper (or in this case two) who were in decent form. All credit to Neusiedl, they did defend well and did create a few opportunities without resorting to tactics we’ve seen from some of the lower table Premier League sides.

Walcott however did fashion himself a chance in as early as the second minute with a lovely turn down the right channel but the Neusiedl defenders were quick to react before Almunia was called into action to gather a Neusiedl free kick at the other end. Jack Wilshere had a penalty claim in the fifth minute when he managed to make his way past a few defenders with some nifty footwork only to be fouled. Play was waived on by the referee for an Arsenal corner. Nasri was on hand to take the corner which Neusiedl cleared comfortably. Arshavin then created himself some space but his tame effort was no trouble for the Neusiedl keeper Adolf Kaiser. Nasri did well to put Wilshere through just before the tenth minute with Wilshere being brought down again in the Neusiedl box. The referee waived play on again.

 

Emmanuel-Thomas’ tame shot, after some impressive footwork from the big man, was all too comfortable for Kaiser while his counterpart gathered comfortably from a cross at the other end. Some slack defending nearly lead to Neusiedl taking the lead when Markus Dombi’s header from a Michael Koller corner was cleared off the line by a switched on Nasri with Almunia well beaten. Young Gibbs the guilty party being caught ball watching.

 

Kaiser did well to save from Walcott who was setup by Arshavin before Nasri’s cross come shot nearly curled in from the right-hand channel. Kaiser came to the rescue again saving from Arshavin while Walcott’s follow up was well dealt with by the Neusiedl defenders all before Koscielny got in well to head away a Neusiedl counter. Walcott’s persistence was rewarded when he put Arsenal ahead on the 28^th minute. Emmanuel-Thomas’ driving run was dummied by the ever impressive Wilshere and met by Walcott who shot low and hard past Kaiser. 1-0 to the Arsenal but Walcott looked a bit confused and unsure on whether he’d scored or not. No worries Walcott. As long as they go in and count.

 

Thomas Vermaelen was subbed in for Djourou who was seen hobbling off nursing an injury just before the half hour mark. Let’s hope his injury is not too serious. Walcott was at it again soon after, combining well with Wilshere but shooting wide under pressure. With the Gunner’s piling on the pressure, Emmanuel-Thomas doubled Arsenal’s lead on the half hour mark. If Gibbs was guilty of ball watching when Neusiedl nearly took the lead, he more than made up for it doing well to cut back from the by-line to tee up Emmanuel-Thomas to score from a well taken effort.

 

Kaiser was again called into action to first foil Wilshere, who was setup by Nasri, and then Arshavin who had been in and out of the match. The first 45 ended with Arsenal 0-2 up and not the avalanche of goals that I expected. Lesson Learnt.

 

The Second 45 saw Vito Mannone coming in for Almunia, Bacary Sagna coming in at right back (replacing Wilshere) and Harvard Nordtveit moving into midfield (yet another unfamiliar position for the young Norwegian to play in). Gale Clichy replaced Gibbs at left back while Emmanuel Eboue came on for Walcott, Carlos Vela replaced Arshavin and Marouane Chamakh replaced Emmanuel-Thomas.  Wenger opting to give a few of the World Cup returnees a chance to get back into the groove of things.

 

Poor finishing let Vela down early in the second 45 before Chamakh was brought down in the Neusiedl box by Dombi. This time the referee did not hesitate to point to the spot. Chamakh stepped up and sent Rene Summer, Neusiedl’s replacement keeper, the wrong way to open his Arsenal account.  Summer did try to redeem himself however with saves off Vermaelen and Vela just before Vela pulled off a Carlos Vela special. Now, I haven’t seen too many Vela goals for Arsenal, but the once I have seen have been truly spectacular. His effort in the 65^th minute was goal of the match where he pulled off another magnificent chip that left Summer with no hope. Vela’s chance was created by Nasri who put in another impressive shift.

 

Then came the chance Neusiedl needed to pull a goal back in the 66^th minute. The referee pointed to the spot from a Neusiedl corner to a bemusement of almost all of the Gunners and a fair few Gooners (me included). Replays vindicated the referee showing that Chamakh had clearly handled Dominik Silberbauer’s header. Juray Skripec stepped up but Mannone was equal to Skripec’s spot kick, saving comfortably. In all fairness, Skripec’s shot was not the greatest penalty ever taken but full credit to Mannone for stepping up, keeping focus and at the end of it all, helping keep a clean sheet.

 

With 20 minutes to go, Nasri and Koscielny were taken off and replaced by Wilshere and Emmanuel-Thomas. Wenger must be impressed by what he’s seen of the two young Englishmen to give them an extended run. Nordtveit, by the way, finally got his chance to take up position at centre half, his preferred spot, even though he hasn’t done himself any disservice with his performances in all the different positions Wenger has deployed him in. Mannone pulled off another impressive save in the 84^th minute before Summer saved an effort off Vela as the 90 minutes came to a close.

 

Samir Nasri put in another man of the match performance, always willing to get involved in play, being industrious, helping out defending, keeping and making most of possession and most importantly, setting up goals for Walcott and Vela. Mannone also did well in the 45 minutes he featured and Wilshere also impressed. The powerful duo of Emmanuel-Thomas and Frimpong would have left positive impressions on Wenger and Nordtveit’s ability to fit in well in a few positions across the field will also come in handy in the new season.

 

The final scoreline was a bit below what was expected but 0-4 away win is noting to complain about.

 

 

Up next, the Gunners head back to the Emirates to host the 2010 edition of the Emirates cup. Up first, Arsenal take on AC Milan at 3:20 am on Sunday morning (1^st August) and then Celtic at 3:20 am on Monday morning (2^nd August). Expect the gunners to get a good work out in both those matches.

Watch all the goals courtesy of Arsenalist.

Goodbye Eduardo

By Aashish Siwan

 

Eduardo has signed for Ukrainian champions Shakhtar Donetsk for an undisclosed fee (which is rumoured to be in the region of £6m). Not since the departure of Vieira have I been so sad to see a Gunner leave the mighty Reds.

 

Eduardo’s decision to leave the Emirates for the Donbass Arena is totally understandable as he had fallen down the pecking order in the central forwards list since the signing of Marouane Chamakh and needed regular game time to build up his fitness, match sharpness and confidence to revive his faltering career. With game time not guaranteed, Eduardo has opted to leave Arsenal for a fresh start.

 

Last season Eduardo was deployed more often in the left forward spot then his preferred central role and seemed a shadow of the man who scored 12 goals from 22 starts in his first season with Arsenal. One can only wonder what sort of an impact the Brazil born Croatian would have had for Arsenal had he not suffered that horrific injury at St. Andrews in 2008. Eduardo showed great mental fortitude, character, determination and courage to make his comeback where many had predicted that he may fail. Months of rehab and physio sessions later, he made a successful comeback and even scored a brace in his first game back against Hull. The 27 year old Croatian international signed from Croatian side Dinamo Zagreb in July 2007 and made 67 appearances and scored 20 goals in all competitions, the most memorable of his goals being this marvellous effort against Burnley in the F. A. Cup.

 

I am sure everyone associated with Arsenal Football Club will wish Eduardo well and I personally hope that the Ukrainian Premier League and the Ukrainian media treats him well (as the Daily Mail still does not get it) and Eduardo sets the Ukrainian League and all other competitions alight with brilliant performances.

Doviđenja and sve najbolje Eduardo. I am sorry you had the worst possible experience indirectly through the best club in the world. It’s the price we pay for the beautiful football we play.

Eduardo’s first ten goals for the club:

 

SK Sturm Graz 0 Arsenal 3

By Aashish Siwan

Scorers: Nasri 16, 43 Lansbury 57

Arsenal took on SK Sturm Graz in their first match of the Austrian tour at the UPC-Arena (formerly known as the Arnold Schwarzenegger Stadium, interestingly enough) in Graz this morning. With all due respect to Barnet F. C., Sturm Graz were expected to provide a much sterner test for an Arsenal team full of youngsters and untested combinations. A 27-man squad was named for the tour with the likes of Clichy, Diaby, Sagna, Vela, Song and Eboue all returning to pre-season training but none being available for this match.

Wenger retained the 4-3-3 formation and started with Fabianski in goal, Vermaelen and Djourou at centre back, Nordtveit at right back and Traore at left back. Wilshere once again started at central midfield flanked by Nasri and Frimpong. Chamakh headed the attack supported by Arshavin and Walcott.

The Gunners started the match slow with possession being lost and passes failing to stick all around the park contributing to a disjointed affair. No to be outdone by their prestigious visitors, Graz were looking to exploit the high line held by the Arsenal back four and success nearly came their way around the fifth minute when a Walcott error let the Graz attack in down the left channel. Nordtveit stepped in snuff out that chance.

Walcott had a very close offside decision go against him and when the Gunners did put their foot down, Nasri was on hand to put Arsenal ahead. If Nasri’s goal against Barnet was a gift, his first against Graz was a thing of beauty! Arsenal’s attack broke down when Chamakh was dispossessed just outside the Graz box, but Nasri recovered possession, shifted the ball onto his left foot to avoid an oncoming tackle and shot low past the Graz keeper. One-nil to the Arsenal!!

Thomas Burgstaller cleared off the line a couple of minutes later from Chamakh’s effort on goal. It took Graz 25 minutes to test Fabianski with Marvin Weinberger’s effort off a Graz free kick failing to trouble the Polish international. Fabianski though, had to work harder to pull off a fantastic save off Imre Szabics who was put through one-on-one with Fabianski by Weinberger a couple of minutes later. Szabics headed over from the resulting corner.

A defensive error from stand in captain Vermaelen nearly let Graz in but Djourou reacted well enough to intercept. Nice to see Djourou having a decent pre-season after being out of action for around 12 months thanks to international obligations.

Arsenal needed to respond to the Graz attacks and Nasri stepped up with the prefect reply. Just before halftime, Nasri curled in a free kick into the top left-hand corner of the Graz net giving their keeper no chance what so ever. Arsenal ended the first 45 0-2 up and Wilshere picking up the only caution of the match with a rash challenge.

The second half started with Szczesny in for Fabianski, Gibbs for Traore, Koscielny for Vermaelen, Emmanuel-Thomas for Chamakh, Craig Eastmond for Frimpong, Rosicky (captain) for Nasri and Henri Lansbury coming in for Arshavin with Wilshere moving up to the left forward spot and Rosicky slotting into central midfield. Arsenal had an all English attack of Wilshere, Emmanuel-Thomas and Walcott with Eastmond, Lansbury and Gibbs the other Englishmen to make the XI in the second half.

The second 45 began the same way as the first as the Arsenal subs took some time to get into their groove as Thomas Burgstaller’s attempt on goal ended in the hands of Szczesny. Mario Haas was gifted a shot on goal with defensive frailties creeping in. Haas’ attempt on goal however was weak and Szczesny gathered comfortably.

Their profligacy in front of goal cost Graz dearly as Lansbury added a third from a very composed finish just before the hour. Emmanuel-Thomas and Nordtveit combined well down the right flank allowing Emmanuel-Thomas to power his way past a few Graz defenders. Emmanuel-Thomas laid the ball on for Lansbury who only had the keeper to beat as Wilshere’s dummy run seemed to drag the rest of the Graz defenders with him. Lansbury made it count and looked very assured while doing so.

Wilshere was retired on the hour mark as Traore made his way back onto the field to try his luck in his favored left forward spot.

Emmanuel-Thomas seemed comfortable enough to try and dribble his way past a packed Graz box soon after. Walcott took over to help Emmanuel-Thomas out but his attempt only managing to find the side netting.

The Gunners seemed comfortable enough with 30 minutes to go but that wasn’t going to stop Traore (who should have done better from a Walcott cross even though he wasn’t expecting the ball to find its way past Graz defenders), Rosicky, Koscielny and Emmanuel-Thomas from trying their luck. Walcott too had an attempt that he flashed past the Graz goal.

Djourou’s charge up the Graz half almost cost Arsenal a goal only for Nordtveit to recover well and put in a fantastic tackle in the Arsenal box.

The Gunners came away with much needed match practice and 3 goals at the end of the 90 with Wenger getting a chance to cast an eye on player combinations, individual performances and vital stats ahead of the new season. SK Sturm Graz looked resigned to a defeat in the second half, more so after Lansbury’s goal, opting to conserve energy as their new season kicked off last weekend.

Samir Nasri put in a man of the match shift in his preferred role just in behind the leading striker but Emmanuel-Thomas’ powerful performance (good ball retention, his strength when holding onto possession, his movement on and off the ball and bringing other players into play) all the while alternating positions with Walcott  and Nordtveit’s stellar performance (great tackles, good crosses and great general awareness while defending and attacking) while playing out of position again would not have been missed by Wenger.

Pre-season continues next week with a visit to SC Neusiedl 1919. Kick off is at 5 am on Wednesday the 28^th of July.

Watch all the goals below:

Barnet 0 Arsenal 4

By Aashish Siwan

Scorers: Arshavin 2, Simpson 16, 45, Nasri 75

Arsenal named a 22-man squad to face Barnet in this annual pre-season curtain raiser. Of the 22, Lukasz Fabianski, Harvard Nordtveit, Thomas Vermaelen, Laurent Koscielny, Armand Traore, Emmanuel Frimpong, Tomas Rosicky, Jack Wilshere, Andrey Arshavin, Jay Simpson and Jay Emmanuel-Thomas started in the first of seven pre-season fixtures. Nordtveit, whose preferred position is centre half, started at right back as new signing Koscielny was paired up with Vermaelen at centre half.

Kick off was delayed by ten minutes adding to the anxiety of waiting for some decent football to be played, but when the game did kick off, Arshavin did not take long to unlock the Barnet defence at the Underhill. Arshavin was up to his usual tricks and a neat one-two between him and, stand in captain, Rosicky put Arshavin through on goal. Arshavin made no mistake sending Barnet keeper, Jake Cole, the wrong way for an easy tap in to open the scoring after just 90 seconds. One-nil to the Arsenal!!

Arsenal, missing World Cup participants and first team regulars Fabregas, van Persie, Vela, Song, Diaby, Gallas, Clichy, Sagna, Bendtner and Eboue started brightly and had the travelling Gooners in good spirits and in good voice and things only got better with Jack Wilshere impressing while pulling the strings from midfield.

Jay Emmanuel-Thomas made space for himself in the fifth minute and sent in a bullet of an attempt off his left foot, which forced the Barnet keeper into a brilliant save.

On the 16^th minute, Wilshere setup Jay Simpson to double Arsenal’s lead with the Barnet defence failing to deal with Wilshere’s mazy run into the box from the right-hand side. Simpson ended up with the easiest of shots on goal.

Vermaelen saw his effort cleared off the line, while Wilshere shot wide and Arshavin’s effort hit the bar all before Simpson added a third just before halftime. Arshavin and Wilshere combining well down the left channel to setup Simpson to double his tally.

As is often the case with these friendly matches, the team that took the field in the second half was completely different from the first with Vito Manonne, Ignasi Miquel, Johan Djourou, Kieran Gibbs, Craig Eastmond, Samir Nasri, Conor Henderson, Henri Lansbury, Nacer Barazite, Theo Walcott and new signing Marouane Chamakh getting a run out.

Walcott and Barazite tested the keeper in the opening minutes as Arsenal carried on from where they left. The tempo of the game dipped as the half went on though and the Arsenal backline comfortably dealt with anything Barnet had to offer in front of the 5000 strong crowd. Walcott, however, did manage to test the Barnet keeper before a major blunder from the Barnet defence let Nasri clean through to score. Barnet centre half Daniel Leach failed to control an innocuous back pass allowing Nasri to nip in.

Lansbury’s reverse ball almost setup Barazite late on before the 90 were up.

For all their endeavor, Barnet failed to seriously test the Arsenal back-line, which had 3 different keepers (as Wojciech Szczesny was subbed in for Mannone midway through the second half) during the match.

Arshavin was officially named the man of the match but most of the youngsters made a good showing of it and it has to be said that Arsenal’s abundance of possession in the first 45 had a lot to do with Emmanuel Frimpong. Frimpong’s tackling was exceptional and he was quick to hound the Barnet players when ever they had possession. The Ghanaian youngster’s ball distribution was second to none and he rarely misplaced his passes. Jack Wilshere also did extremely well and setup two goals and looked bright throughout. His loan spell at Bolton seemed to have done him some good as Wilshere looked stronger and quicker through the midfield.

As for the two new signings, Koscielny dealt comfortably with whatever little came his way in the first 45 and Chamakh would have done better with the better quality of crosses Nordtveit and Traore were firing through in the first half.

Johan Djourou came through unscathed in the 45 minutes he played. Doubts still hang over the futures of Sylvestre, Gallas and Campbell and central defensive options will be rather limited if all three were to leave as only Vermaelen and Djourou have any Premier League experience to note.

Up next we have SK Sturm Graz at the UPC-Arena in Graz. The Gunners fly off to Austria early this week and kick off is at 5 am on Thursday the 22^nd.

2010-2011 Season Kit numbers

By Aashish Siwan

Robin van Persie has decided to take on the Arsenal squad number 10 for the 2010-2011 season just as Nicklas Bendtner decided to switch from squad number 26 to 52 before last season began. The squad number 10 has just recently been vacated by William Gallas, whose contract expired on the 30^th of June.

van Persie of course, follows in the footsteps of his compatriot, the non-flying Dutchman and Arsenal legend Dennis Bergkamp, who also wore the number 10 while at Arsenal.

Carlos Vela has also switched from squad number 12 to 11 while new signings Laurent Koscielny and Marouane Chamakh have taken up squad numbers 6 and 29 respectively.

The full first team squad numbers are as follows:

Keepers

1. Manuel Almunia

21. Lukasz Fabianski

24. Vito Mannone

53. Wojciech Szczesny

Defenders

3. Bacary Sagna

5. Thomas Vermaelen

6. Laurent Koscielny

20. Johan Djourou

22. Gael Clichy

28. Kieran Gibbs

30. Armand Traore

31. Sol Campbell

Midfielders

2. Abou Diaby

4. Cesc Fabregas

7. Tomas Rosicky

8. Samir Nasri

15. Denilson

16. Aaron Ramsey

17. Alex Song

19. Jack Wilshere

23. Andrey Arshavin

27. Emmanuel Eboue

Strikers

10. Robin van Persie

11. Carols Vela

14. Theo Walcott

29. Marouane Chamakh

52. Nicklas Bendtner