Arsenal jialat
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Arsenal could have to face arch-rivals Tottenham tomorrow without talisman captain Thierry Henry.
The brilliant French striker is struggling to shrug off a neck problem, which saw him miss last weekend's trip to Bolton.
Henry, 29, was back in the starting XI for Wednesday night's match against Fulham, but manager Arsene Wenger revealed he would undergo further tests ahead of the north London derby.
'Thierry has to be assessed and we will make a decision on him today,' said the Arsenal manager. 'It is a problem with his sciatic nerve.'
The likes of Julio Baptista, Freddie Ljungberg, Gael Clichy and Emmanuel Eboue were all absent from the squad at Fulham, while Cesc Fabregas came off the bench at half-time.
Wenger's calculated gamble failed to pay off against the Cottagers, who rose to the challenge and raced into a two-goal lead inside 19 minutes and a second consecutive away defeat in the Barclays Premiership saw the Gunners' title hopes all but disappear.
Wenger had suggested this next run of games - which also includes a crunch Champions League trip to Porto next week before the clash against Chelsea at Stamford Bridge on December 10 - would prove to be the 'moment of truth' for his side's campaign.
While stopping short of conceding the Premiership crown, privately the French coach will know it would take something of a minor miracle for Arsenal to overhaul the 16-point deficit on leaders Manchester United, even with a match in hand.
Wenger, however, maintained his full focus was now on Spurs - and not ahead to next week's crucial European tie.
He said: 'The Tottenham game is the important game of the week now.
'It is in front of us.
'We must give everything to win this game then see what we do afterwards for the Porto match.'
Central defender Philippe Senderos must serve an instant one-match suspension following his dismissal for a second yellow card with just over 30 minutes left at Craven Cottage.
Although William Gallas is making good progress with his thigh injury, tomorrow's game may come too soon for his return, so Johan Djourou can expect to start.
Spurs were one of the top-flight clubs not to be involved in midweek action - a quirk of the fixture list which certainly did not impress the Arsenal manager.
Wenger, though, insists his men will be more than ready for the challenge which awaits them in the first north London derby to be played at the new 60,000-seater Emirates Stadium.
'We have a difficult game coming up against Tottenham, and I do not agree at all with the way the fixtures have been organised - it is a farce,' bemoaned the Frenchman.
'We play now against opponents who did not play this week - but we will beat them.' -
spurs will get a lot of satisfaction beating them now.
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but i believe Arsenal will win this game.
or at least draw 
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spurs are also inconsistent.
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i cannot help but think arsenal's season is over...
i'm not surprise they lost to bolton, now facing another arch rival like spur, i doubt they can win... -
Go Arsenal Go
You can do it -
when arsenal didn't do well at the starting of the season, you all say they will relegate.. when they slowly pick up and win man u, you shut up... when they are now back in poor form, you make noise...
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Wenger is too arrogant. Openly say Henry shall win this and win that award..
Shortly after that,they kena beaten by lowly Fulham with Henry playing. Hahaha.... Got owned liao. -
i dont tink gunners will hav a back 2 back defeats in london derby..
spurs can hold a draw as their away is poor.. -
most likely will be draw...
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spurs will win like hell.
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Looks very much likely to be a draw.. although its not what both teams whould want it at the moment..
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omg! arsenal thrash spurs!
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arsenal did not win it, spurs lost it.
spurs were hopeless. they hardly had a shot at goal. -
yes.. spur's defence was a joke from the start..
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actually i dunno wat to say about gunners, against strong clubs they play well, against weak clubs like bolton or west ham, they can lost to them. really sux!
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the whole team was a joke.Originally posted by 4getmenot:yes.. spur's defence was a joke from the start..
jol spent a lot of money on many new players but their playing style remains exactly the same.
the new players did not add a new dimension at all.
anyway who is martin jol? -
Why drop Defoe ah
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to be beaten by 3 goals or more would demonstrate a gulf of standards among the teams. But Spurs for me, was an upcoming team will alot of talents.
surprisingly, Jol decided to drop his better performing players and for Defoe who performed so well, his rewards was "the bench".
strange... unless.... "KELONG"?? -
frankly the premiership is getting from bad to worst.
if not for man u's current form the epl are not worth watching at all.
on top of it, starhub have plans to increase the subscription further.
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form or luck+some cheating+12thplayer?Originally posted by dragg:frankly the premiership is getting from bad to worst.
if not for man u's current form the epl are not worth watching at all.
on top of it, starhub have plans to increase the subscription further. -
if you talk about luck+form+cheating, its not even comparable to Chelsea's last 2 seasons..
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Frankly i don;t think SAF does not condone diving and cheating as a way to win, unlike some jose's style. I bet SAF is gonna have some words with Ronaldo and caution him against it.
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true, EPL is getting lousy, esp when comes to European Cup.Originally posted by dragg:frankly the premiership is getting from bad to worst.
if not for man u's current form the epl are not worth watching at all.
on top of it, starhub have plans to increase the subscription further.
Well, Chelsea did manage to woo some of the better players, but with Shev and Ballack, it seems EPL can't have a messi type of player soon.. -
many players play-act.Originally posted by BrUtUs:form or luck+some cheating+12thplayer?
robben and ronaldo are certainly top of the list.