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Arsenal v Olympiacos, Tuesday 29th September, CL MD2, Sky Sports Xtra 19:45


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Nicklas Bendtner will miss Tuesday's Champions League match against Olympiacos after sustaining minor injuries in a car accident.Theo Walcott will also miss the game due to a lack of match fitness. Both should be available for Sunday's Premier League fixture against Blackburn Rovers, Arsène Wenger confirmed.Bendtner missed training on Monday following the crash and will not be risked against the Greek outfit. "Nicklas Bendtner didn’t participate [in training] because he had a car accident on Sunday,” said Wenger. "Fortunately he did no long-term damage but he was bruised and we thought it was best for him not to train. He should be back for Sunday."Eduardo will be back in the squad for Olympiacos, but Walcott will not. He is available but he's short of competitive action at the moment - he needs a game, and we'll organise one for him. He should be back to normal again from Sunday onwards."
Denilson will be out for another two months.The Brazilian midfielder’s last appearance in an Arsenal shirt came at Eastlands back on September 12. He was substituted eight minutes after half-time because of a back problem and has not been seen since. The initial prognosis for the injury was a few weeks.Speaking ahead of the game with Olympiacos, Arsène Wenger revealed it would be actually much longer.“Denilson has a small fracture in his back,” said the manager. “He will be out for two months.”
Arsène Wenger has defended Robin van Persie following his candid comments about 'exaggerating' to win free-kicks and penalties.The Dutchman made his opposition to 'diving' patently clear when he spoke to the media last week but went on to argue that players were within their rights to demonstrate to referees when they were genuinely fouled on the football pitch.Van Persie admitted that he had exaggerated fouls to ensure justice was done on the field of play but his honesty was misread as cynicism in some quarters. Wenger sought to put the record straight when the issue cropped up again at his pre-match press conference on Monday."I did not understand what some people made of that," said Wenger. "Sometimes when a striker is fouled, he wants to make sure the referee sees that, which is what basically Robin was talking about. He wanted to show there is a difference between what people call diving and being fouled."In fact, the television showed a great example of it when at Manchester United a penalty was not given when [Patrice] Evra fouled Van Persie 100 per cent. He had to go down, but when you go down, you make sure the referee notices you have been fouled."English football has a long-standing reputation for tolerating 'hard but fair' tackling - certainly more than the other leading European leagues - but Wenger believes that the balance is being redressed on the continent."There is a trend all over Europe to give less fouls and less penalties than before," he said."In Italy there was a stage when they gave a penalty every time somebody collapsed. Now, I think they have rectified that well, they let the flow of the game go and it is very important because when you do not have that, the games are not interesting."The referees have a big responsibility because they are always on the fringe of letting the game go, or not letting it go too far. If they do not let the game go, the game becomes boring."
Arsène Wenger believes he “would not be doing his job” if Arsenal made a financial deficit.This morning, the Club announced a net profit of £35.2 million for the year ending May 31, 2009. They are healthy figures and, a few hours later at his pre-match press conference, Wenger was the first to pay tribute. However the Frenchman also emphasised that, for him, sporting success is always the primary aim providing it does not hamper the long-term stability of the Club.“I am encouraged by the fact that the financial results are good because on my side I try to contribute to that,” he said.“I am quite proud that I work in a company that is in a strong financial situation. I have always worked in clubs which make money and I would not feel that I do my job well if we lost money at the end of the season.“However the sporting side is always the most important thing. To be completely happy you have to do well on the sporting side but never, no matter what happens, can it be accepted from any manager that to do that you put your club in trouble."
MannoneSagna Gallas Vermaelen Clichy/GibbsSong/Ramsey Fabregas Diaby/RosickyEboue/Vela van Persie Arshavin/EduardoSzczesny, Silvestre/Senderos, Ramsey/Song, Rosicky/Diaby, Eduardo/Arshavin, Vela/Eboue, Gibbs/Clichy.
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Theo Walcott is expected to play for an Arsenal Reserves XI tomorrow night as they take on Olympiacos’ second string side at London Colney.The rapid winger has been back in full-time training for just over two weeks but will not be risked for the Champions League Group H clash against the Greek outfit at the Emirates. Instead he will join an XI selected by Neil Banfield for a friendly against a similar aged Olympiacos team. The ‘Erythrolefki’ have a close relationship with the Gunners’ Academy and have decided to take advantage of the fixture overlap to bring a second team to London to do battle on two fronts.Walcott has been missing since the final pre-season fixture against Valencia where he sustained a back injury. Arsène Wenger was understandably frustrated as it was the 20-year-old’s first game since playing for England’s full national team and Under 21’s during the summer. The encounter will also be Theo’s first game back in London after penning a few four-year-deal with the club.The likes of Mark Randall, Kerrea Gilbert, Sanchez Watt and a handful of other players who were involved in the Carling Cup are expected to join Walcott on the pitch as Banfield gives his charges a run out ahead of their next Reserve League South outing, at home to Chelsea on the 5th of October.
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Theo Walcott returned to action as Arsenal Reserves beat Olympiacos 3-1 on Tuesday morning. Gilles Sunu, Emmanuel Frimpong and Rhys Murphy got the goals for Neil Banfield's side in the friendly game at the Club's Training Ground.However the headline news was Walcott's 60-minute run-out after recovering from a back problem. Until now, injury had restricted the England striker to just one half of a pre-season game this term. The 20-year-old started on the right side of the front three, with Nacer Barazite on the left and Sunu through the middle. Jack Wilshere played in central midfield and - with Vito Mannone and Wojciech Szczesny on first-team duty - James Shea was in goal. Both sides were restricted to long-range efforts early on with neither team giving too much away.Giannis Gkavasiadis was the first Olympiacos player to test Shea with a drilled effort. Mark Randall's 30-yard drive was saved then Wilshere crafted the best shot of the opening quarter, hitting the bar from just outside the area.Kyle Bartley was forced into a sliding block after an acrobatic effort from Gkavasiadis 20 minutes in but still neither side could find a route to goal. Walcott had shown glimpses of his pace down the right, and seven minutes from the break, slid the ball through the centre of Olympiacos' defence to Sunu. The French forward slotted home Arsenal's first goal at the near post. However, just two minutes after the break, the visitors equalised. Dangerman Gkavasiadis broke away from the Arsenal backline and fired his shot past Shea to the delight of his teammates. Then, barely a minute later, only a well-timed tackle from Bartley prevented the Greek striker putting his side ahead. With 30 minutes remaining Banfield made four substitutions. Randall, Wilshere, Armand Traore and, after an eye-catching contribution, Walcott all went off. Murphy, Craig Eastmond, Frimpong and Cedric Evina came on.Ten minutes later the Gunners took the lead. After a lung-bursting run through the middle, Frimpong was one-on-one with keeper Nikos Papadopoulos. The Arsenal striker went down and the referee had no hesitation in pointing to the spot. Frimpong got up and, though the keeper went the right way, his penalty was hit forcefully enough to find the bottom corner. With seven minutes remaining Banfield's side sealed the victory. Barazite sent in a corner from the left and found Murphy drifting in unmarked at the back post. The substitute headed home and Arsenal had their victory.ArsenalJames SheaKerrea GilbertLuke AylingKyle Bartley ©Armand Traore (60)Mark Randall (60)Francis CoquelinJack Wilshere (60)Theo Walcott (60)Nacer BaraziteGilles SunuSubstitutesCedric Evina (60), Craig Eastmond (60), Rhys Murphy (60), Emmanuel Frimpong (60)
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Arsenal v Olympiakos line-ups:Arsenal: Mannone, Eboue, Gallas, Vermaelen, Clichy, Song Billong, Rosicky, Fabregas, Diaby, Arshavin, van Persie.Subs: Szczesny, Sagna, Senderos, Eduardo, Vela, Ramsey, Gibbs.Olympiakos: Nikopolidis, Zewlakow, Avraam Papadopoulos, Mellberg, Raul Bravo, Ledesma, Torosidis, Dudu, Zairi, Leonardo, Diogo.Subs: Urko, Domi, Galitsios, Stoltidis, Oscar, Mitroglou, Giannis Papadopoulos.

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