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Barclays Premier League leaders Arsenal maintained their superb start to the season with a hard-earned 1-0 win at West Ham.



Robin van Persie's close-range header on 13 minutes proved enough for an eighth straight victory.


West Ham, though, had their chances - the best of which fell to England hopeful Dean Ashton - but they also were indebted to keeper Rob Green, who made a string a fine saves.

The Hammers have performed well against Arsenal in recent meetings - winning both games last season as they escaped the drop. However, the Gunners are currently in blistering form and again started brightly.

Inside the opening two minutes Arsenal broke quickly down the left, with Abou Diaby cutting the ball back to Emmanuel Adebayor, who drilled a low shot just wide from 15 yards.

West Ham, though, soon rallied and former Gunner Freddie Ljungberg was unfortunate to be flagged offside when collecting a quick backheel from Ashton on the edge of the Arsenal box.

The England hopeful was then sent clear himself, only to again be called up by the referee's assistant on the far side.

Ashton was leading the West Ham line with plenty of aggression, and turned to drill a 20-yard shot just over.

Arsenal, though, were ahead on 13 minutes.

Adebayor held the ball up well on the right side of the area and fed a pass out to Alexander Hleb.

His centre flew across the six-yard box, where van Persie arrived on queue at the far post to glance a header past Green, who was at full stretch and could only push the ball onto the post and in.

The goal silenced the home crowd, and after such a positive start the Hammers suddenly looked disjointed.

As the half-hour approached, West Ham were fortunate not to be reduced to 10 men following an X-rated challenge by Mark Noble on Hleb.

The Belarus midfielder, just back from a knee problem, had to be carried off with what looked like a similar injury and was replaced by Emmanuel Eboue.

Arsenal were incensed, but referee Alan Wiley deemed a yellow card sufficient punishment.

West Ham continued to try to take the match to Arsenal, but the visitors were playing with a high defensive line and used the offside trap well.

When the hosts did get in behind, they could not find a telling cross into the danger zone.

At the other end, Lee Bowyer was penalised for handball just outside the area on the right.

Van Persie struck his effort goalwards, which Green palmed behind.

Mathieu Flamini tried his luck with a low, 20-yard strike which the West Ham keeper got down well to stop.

The hosts replaced Scott Parker, who looked to have picked up a knock, at the restart and were then quickly forced into another change when Anton Ferdinand hobbled off and Danny Gabbidon came on.

Van Persie came within inches of putting the visitors 2-0 ahead on 54 minutes.

The Dutchman side-stepped marker Gabbidon on the edge of the area, and drilled his shot towards the top left-hand corner.

Green was again at full stretch and got his fingertips to the ball, which this time bounced back off the post and away.

Moments later it should have been 1-1 after Bowyer chipped the ball into the area from the right.

Ashton had timed his run perfectly to get a free header at the back post, only to then nod it straight at a grateful Manuel Almunia.

This was a good spell for West Ham. Ljungberg did get the ball into the net when he collected Henri Camara's slide pass - but was flagged offside in what looked a marginal call.

However, Arsenal were dangerous on the break.

Van Persie and Adebayor exchanged passes on the edge of the West Ham box, which sent the Togo striker clear and Green came to the rescue with a fine reaction save low to his left.

Arsenal full-back Gael Clichy was the next man to force a good save from Green, the England international again at full stretch to turn the ball behind.

The Gunners made a change with 12 minutes left when Gilberto replaced Adebayor, who looked to have a dead leg, before Green once more pushed a goal-bound strike behind, this time from Flamini.

Van Persie booted a downward header from Ashton clear in front of his own net as the Gunners closed out the match - including four minutes of stoppage time - to stay ahead of the chasing pack.


http://soccernet.espn.go.com/report?id=219348&cc=3888

Ronaldinho in Chelsea?


Over my dead body, Not even for 500 million pounds,

Arsenal 2 Newcastle 0

Cryin Bendtner n Denilson each nettin the goals, Wat sayeth thou all gunners?

Dem young boys disgraced Viduka,Martins n co,


Captain Sanderos, Interesting,


Gunners till i Quench,

@ medube can u counter the remaining 9 points Lawyer listed?

Shame wont allow u guys to migrate to club like Portmouth or Newcastle, so i understand,

@ tkb u r askin for trophies?


Check out this feats,


http://www.arsenal.com/article.asp?thisNav=the+club&article=344299&lid=History&Title=Club+Honours

U need source,


http://www.skysports.com/story/0,19528,12040_2752139,00.html


http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport2/hi/football/teams/a/arsenal/7009944.stm


www.arsenal.com


U need more source? @ femilangy

For starters we go kill Chelsea, then Man U n who else,

Real Madrid just edge us by 2 million,

By next season we will be the richest in the world,

RMm shuld just come down to naija n call YEMI TELLA,

Wat do u guys think?

Plzz help spread that page of his to friends n love ones,His record label need at least 150,000 listeners before the end of this month,

I believe thats a kinda publicity or something.he is a close friend,so he has ask me to help spread his page,

Official website will be out soon,

www.myspace.com/etceteralive


Album comin to the stores near u very soon,


Better Spread the news,

Currently am playin

Michelle,Live for you n Love should last by Etcetera

www.myspace.com/etceteralive

www.myspace.com/etceteralive


plzz go listen his songs,


He needs ur support,

Woww 4 pages already!!!


Thanks everyone for the comments, IVs will be given to some members,


The lucky lady is a good friend of Seun,

Be rendered useless?

I need help plzz, i have got vital information in my Memory card n phone memory,

Is it possible to flash the phone or something to make it useless,


Phone make is Nokia 3230,

I was at d camp n yes OBJ was there.He actually came on d pulpit n was tellin evry1 how God save nigeria was sharia.He spent like 30mins talkin.I guess hes a friend of d GO.

Makin plans 4 d new week n try 2 see if i culd get some money 2 rent a new house.

They r all jokers.

Hmm.Educative responses.I will sure give dis a try someday.

It depends on d kinda file u r uploadin.Lets know a bit more about ur file.Then we can offer help.

Involved.Soon 2 b married.

Just felt i shuld share d good news wit my fellow nrlanders.I met my heartrob thru nr n we will b man n wife very soon.Who says u cant find ur soulmate just anywhere?,then dat creature is behind time.

Wenger shuld plzz for heaven sake cast that yeye keeper to the bench for the rest of the season,

ahahaha Paraga indeed,


but seriously, I want to know if they were truly called the Pensioners,

Dat Chelsea Football club was formerly known as the Pensioners?


I am just asking ooo,

Thank goodness, at last my prayers has been answered,

Good riddance Freddie,


Thanks for all the good times in Arsenal,

Found someone already, thanks

New Arsenal striker Eduardo da Silva has every intention of helping fire the Gunners back into the Premier League title race.


The Brazilian-born Croatian has, pending the receipt of a work permit, agreed a four-year deal after leaving Dinamo Zagreb.


Details of the transfer fee have not been disclosed but Arsenal are understood to have paid in the region of £7.5million for the 24-year-old.

And although not intended to be an instant replacement for departed captain Thierry Henry, he has shown his ability to score consistently and he is ready for the challenge.

'For any football player, it is an honour to play for Arsenal,' said the forward, who has opted to have the name Eduardo on his number nine shirt for the Gunners.

'I was lucky it was me that they chose to sign, so I hope to fulfil their expectations.

'Arsenal play with the ball on the floor, it is all about passing the ball rather than playing long balls forward. That is why I should fit in well.'

Eduardo told the club's website, www.arsenal.com: 'It [England] is a bit different to Croatia; the stadiums are bigger, there are more people watching - that is the one of the great things.

'I will give my best to adapt to the groups and the stadiums as quickly I can.'

The striker added: 'The physical side of the league is pretty much the same. It is football after all.

'Technically it is the same too - the only difference is the discipline and the concentration.

'I am fully prepared to face this difficult challenge.'

Eduardo - who moved to Europe at the age of 15 and took Croatian nationality in 2002 - brings a proven track record with him to Emirates Stadium.

Coincidentally it was Eduardo who grabbed the first competitive goal at Emirates Stadium when the Gunners beat Dinamo during last season's Champions League third qualifying round in late August.

He has also proven himself no slouch at international level, scoring against England during the Euro 2008 qualifier victory in Zagreb last October.

Just how quickly last season's record top scorer in the Croatian domestic championship can adapt to the rigours of English top-flight football remains to be seen.

However, Eduardo is more than ready to face the challenge - having been given the low-down by his national team boss Slaven Bilic, who had spells at West Ham and Everton.

Eduardo it is now all about what he can achieve with Arsenal, rather than looking to fill the gaping void left by Henry's departure.

'Thierry Henry is one of the best attacking players in the world. He left his mark here, scored many goals and proved himself,' reflected the Brazilian-born striker.

'I am arriving now - but when I step on the pitch I want to do the best I can for myself, for Arsenal and also for the fans and try to win as many trophies as possible with the club.'

Wenger looks to have again made a shrewd investment, as at 24, the striker's best years are clearly in front of him.

Eduardo will shortly link up with the rest of his new team-mates as pre-season training steps up a gear ahead of the Emirates Cup at the end of the month.

With Robin van Persie back from his broken foot and the return of young Dane Nicolas Bendtner from a loan spell at Birmingham, not to mention Togo striker Emmanuel Adebayor, Wenger will certainly have plenty of attacking options available next season.

The Arsenal manager believes his new signing will slot straight into the squad.

'He has great qualities and will integrate very well into our style of football,' said Wenger.

'He is a very good finisher and although he is predominantly a striker, he is a very adaptable player.'

The Gunners boss continued: 'I have known about him for a while, but his performances against us in last year's Champions League really showed what a dangerous player he is.

'He is a pacy, intelligent player. Also, he is hardworking and has a very good team ethic to his game.

'Eduardo will be a great asset for us and we are all looking forward to him.'

Wenger is now expected to focus on bolstering his defensive options, with a £6million deal for Auxerre full-back Bakary Sagna said to be in the pipeline.


http://soccernet.espn.go.com/news/story?id=443103&cc=5739

Chioma too is out

Ok now am very Sad sad sad!!!

My boy(Kiba) is out of the show


Who do i give it to?I think Justina wuld win,Yes she can be an an international star, but she shuldnt let her emotion take over her songs, She is overkillin it sometimes, Shes very good though,


Am still mourning the exit of my boy though,

Denex u r beginning to sound like Mamajama