Arsenal could be about to revive their interest in Stephen Appiah, with a January move for the Ghana midfielder looking possible.

Appiah, a free agent following his release from Turkish club Fenerbache, had been considering terms to sign at several top European sides.

However, the 27-year-old is keen to ply his trade in England and it is understood Arsenal could now offer him that opportunity as manager Arsene Wenger contemplates a potential move for a player who has seen himself plagued by injury in recent seasons.

“I am training with Brescia at the moment,” he told skysports.com.

“I am happy with my form but I need to get the match fitness, apart from that I am fine.

“I would like to thank my national coach for giving me the chance to play the game against Tunisia

“I heard there will be scouts from Germany and England, I need a football club and very soon I will sign, very soon.”

Wenger has been a long-term admirer of Appiah - known as ‘The Tornado’ - and his instant availability could prompt the Frenchman into entering negotiations with the unattached midfielder, who two years ago revealed he was close to joining the club before a knee injury denied him.

But Appiah still harbours hopes of realising his ‘dream’ to join compatriots Michael Essien, Harminu Dramani and John Pantsil in the Premier League and is confident that he will soon sign for a top flight club.

He said two months ago:

“My dream is to play in the Premier League and with the help of God, I will realise that dream.”

Certainly, Wenger’s depleted midfield requires urgent strengthening, following the recent league blows against Fulham, Hull, Stoke and Aston Villa.

It doesn’t get any better for Arsenal or manager Arsene Wenger. Just days after the 2-0 league defeat against Aston Villa, injury problems begin to mount for the Gunners.

Theo Walcott was expected to take part in England’s friendly with Germany tomorrow, but during a training session this evening Theo dislocated his right shoulder after falling on the pitch.

The 19-year-old was immediately rushed to a local hospital where his shoulder was put back into place. Worryingly for Arsene Wenger, Walcott is not the only player out, in fact, he actually adds to the growing list of injured Arsenal players with Bacary Sagna, Emmanuel Eboue and long term absentees Eduardo da Silva and Tomas Rosicky already out.

England manager Fabio Capello told The FA’s official site:

“Our priority is Theo and making him as comfortable as possible before he returns to England.

“We’re all very disappointed, but the most important thing is for Theo to travel home and make a quick recovery.”

Only a fortnight ago, Walcott was on the receiving end of a dubious challenge from Stoke defender Rory Delap where once again, Theo injured his shoulder.

Walcott is now a major doubt for Arsenal’s Premier League encounter with Manchester City on Saturday.

Mikael Silvestre has been handed a start ahead of Tuesday’s International friendly for France against Uruguay at the Stade de France.

The 31-year-old former Man United defender’s last game for Les Bleus was in the 2006 FIFA World Cup, two years on, and Mikael is back in his countries fold thanks to some accomplished performances in the Gunners backline.

France coach Raymond Domenech told French media:

“Mika [Silvestre] plays. He is among those who have some background, experience. He’s getting games for Arsenal as well.”

Domenech joked that he would play the whole Arsenal defence (Sagna, Gallas, Silvestre and Clichy) and ‘hopefully’ that might save him from the press’ criticism.

“I may play all of Arsenal’s defence. So at least I am sure that nobody criticize me.”

And before any of the International action has got underway, Arsenal have already got an injury issue to contend with. Bacary Sagna has been ruled out of tomorrow’s game due to an ankle injury sustained on Saturday’s 2-0 defeat to Aston Villa.

“We’ve got Julien Escudé who’s out, Bacary Sagna and Lassana Diarra are out for sure. Jean-Alain Boumsong may fill in.” Domenech said.

Predicted Starting XI:

Lloris
Fanni - Gallas - Silvestre - Clichy
Vieira - Toulalan
Gourcuff
Ribery - Benzema - Henry

Gooner Talk will keep you updated with all the latest International news concerning Arsenal’s stars in the coming days - stay locked.

Many thanks to Vince from ASCFR.

Arsenal’s Carling Cup quarter-final clash at Burnley is to be shown live on satellite television. The game will be played on Tuesday, December 2 (7.45pm) and be covered by Sky Sports 2.

In the event of a draw at full-time, the game will go to extra-time and penalties.

The Gunners are on Sky several times already in December with the Premier League games against Middlesbrough (Sat Dec 13, 12.45pm), Liverpool (Sun Dec 21, 4pm) and Aston Villa (Fri Dec 26, 5.15pm) all live on TV.

Stay tuned to Gooner Talk for the latest news, views and opinions on Arsenal’s first team.

Yesterday’s defeat to Villa is about as refreshing as a pot of boiling water thrown maliciously into your lap. After watching the media and gooners alike fall over themselves in the wake of the wins to Manchester United and Wigan, it seemed as if the good times were back at the Emirates. It appears the prospect of our first team having consistency is about as realistic as a bottle-inhabiting genie taking residence in your house.

With each passing week, it is getting harder to refrain from trite sayings from bitter and pessimistic fans, but as the saying goes, if you can’t beat them then join them.

This team is about as motivated in the smallish games as a thug is at a meeting of nuns. They have the urgency of a sloth. Why they do not find urgency in their passing is both a question that evokes confusion as well as disgust. The game yesterday starkly reveals some changes that need to be made in the first team

1. Manuel Almunia is not the answer

Buffon would have saved the second goal. So would have Casillas, Frey, Cech, hell probably even Lehmann. Manuel Almunia simply is not a world-class keeper, nor would he ever be. If Wenger is so hell-bent on producing a team full of youngsters, then drop the bleached wannabe-rockstar keeper and put in a player who can be world-class- Lukasz Fabianski. He has shown that he can make blinding saves. He has undoubted potential and the only way he will realize his potential is to be played. The worst he can do is allow goals like yesterday to happen. He would be nothing but an improvement.

2. Cesc is not an Arsenal player anymore

What’s that you say, he’s not one of ours? To that, I say in his mind he no longer wants to be on the field. If he still desires to serve Arsenal Football Club, it certainly is not as a footballer, perhaps he could become a janitor? Our once lauded, once world-class young prodigy clearly has his mind elsewhere. It does not take a seasoned fan to realize that. To think that he is simply tired or distrusting of Denilson is wishful thinking. Replay his close-range shot at Friedel which was barely tipped over the bar. Notice his reaction- it is not one of annoyance or the oft-seen grimace because he knows he should have scored, it is of a player who really cannot be bothered anymore.

3. Bendtner is not an Arsenal player

Nicklas Bendnter is a digression in progress. He gets worse by the game. I would much rather have Jay Simpson in the team than this guy. He is never going to make it here. Wenger should make the hard decision now and get rid of him. He will eventually stunt the growth of another up-and-coming striker, be it Simpson or someone else. He was pathetic today. He would not get in this Villa team, let alone ours. Then again, who’s to say we’re better than them anymore?

I’m an optimist, I believe in trust and support. I believe in Wenger and trust his judgement. I do not, however, believe in this collection of players. Nasri, although not fully adjusted to the premier league, is a winner and fighter. So is Clichy, Sagna, Vela, Walcott, Ramsey, Toure, Wilshere, and even Gallas. Diaby is not. Fabregas, right now, is not. Almunia is so far from being a fighter he should take up interpretive dance. I have faith in Wenger that he will eventually pull a clever rabbit out the hat, not this motley assortment of half-arsed overpaid wannabe winners. They will never win anything until some real changes are made.

Times are tough and for those engrossed in football nothing is better than a solid win for your team.  Fans of the Big Four teams are somewhat spoilt.  We expect the best and usually get it.  We can look at fixture lists and see that we should really win the majority of them.  However, as of late Arsenal fans have been experiencing the inconsistency more akin to a mid-table team.

Make no mistake, last week’s rousing win over Manchester United was exactly what both the Arsenal team and fans needed.  The game was paramount to confidence and it seemed that the result would set us up for a solid run positive results.  Oh to be an Arsenal fan!

I would be lying if I for one felt that this weekend’s game against Aston Villa was to be a stroll in the park.  It seemed almost inevitable that the Man Utd victory was just building up the team so it could once again be knocked down.  There was this overwhelming nervousness there would be yet another false dawn for us to stomach, as it was duly delivered by a truly ruinous performance.

Niklas Bendtner is a player who appears to be out of his depth, consistently claiming that he is ready to fill Adebayor’s shoes, yet failing at every chance.  William Gallas goes from hero to zero on an all too frequent basis and has yet to truly inspire confidence.  Denilson is mercurial and makes hard work of a defensive role when asked.

At the end of the day, results like these have to come down to mental strength.  Maybe it was a case that the team felt that after the Man Utd result, that the job was done, we were back in it.  In fact, the match that matters most is the one that follows.  The squad seem oddly incapable of widespread focus and as a result are severely punished.  Momentum cannot be underestimated, both Liverpool and Chelsea benefit hugely from it, and Arsenal must attain it in order to challenge for the title.  As Wenger said, the Villa match was a perfect opportunity to gather momentum and further silence the doubters.  Unfortunately, those voices baying for Arsenal’s blood will once again resonate from the media.

Much of the blame has to fall upon both Gallas and Wenger.  As captain and manager the two need to instill a much tougher mentality in the side as well as belief, a quality that seems to fade in and out of the side.  As calm as Wenger may seem in post-match interviews, spouting identikit comments, you have to hope that behind the doors of the locker room he is reading his players the riot act.

The way in which goals are conceded just serve to compound our misery.  Bacary Sagna was down with a serious ankle injury for Villa’s first goal and Carlos Vela was taken out from behind on the edge of the area only for the referee to give nothing and see Villa race away for a second.  We had more to annoyed about with the second goal, as we could have got something out the game from the freekick that should have been awarded.

The inconsistency of referees in games is yet another feature that has become more prominent.  Denilson and Fabregas both received bookings, while Sidwell got a stern talking to for an equally bad challenge.  If referees want respect they need to make consistent decisions.

Sagna is now injured for a few weeks, luckily Toure can fill in for him with little trouble.  Cesc Fabregas is suspended for the match away at Manchester City, a must win.  But looking at his performances of late, the suspension could be a blessing in disguise.  After winning the Euros with Spain and being rushed into preseason he still looks like he’s feeling the heat and a match off should hopefully give him some much needed rest.

Looking at the table now, the title seems to be out of reach.  With Liverpool, Man Utd and Chelsea all winning we needed to keep the pace.  But remember, the season is long.  Last season Man Utd lost 5 games and drew 6 on their way to the title.  If we can get some momentum together with wins over Man City and Chelsea we can maybe get back on track.  Beating the rest of the Big Four is vital, and we proved against Man Utd that we can do that, even without our top two strikers.

The outlook may look bleak, but as fans it is up to us show belief, and frankly the crowd on Saturday were disrespectful, with some boos even echoing out from the crowd.  This squad is so close, a common phrase that I’m sure some of you are fed up of hearing, but if the team can muster up some momentum with consecutive victories over Man City and Chelsea, the future will look much brighter.

Arsenal boss Arsene Wenger revealed in his post-match press conference that fullback Bacary Sagna will be out for a ‘few weeks’ after sustaining an ankle injury in his sides dismal Premier League loss to Aston Villa earlier this afternoon.

The 25-year-old was injured in the build-up towards Villa’s opener, and despite Arsenal’s protests, the Villains played on and made it 1-0 after Gael Clichy headed into his own net.

Wenger told Arsenal TV Online:

“Yes it is serious. He will be out for a few weeks; he has an injured ankle.”

It is expected that Johan Djourou or Kolo Toure will fill in for the Gunners’ next league clash against moneybags Manchester City in a weeks time.

When looked at, Arsenal’s current injury list doesn’t appear to be as bad as first seemed with only Eduardo (broken leg), Tomas Rosicky (hamstring) Emmanuel Eboue (knee) and now Bacary Sagna (ankle) out injured.

Gooner Talk will continue to provide you with the latest updates on injuries, breaking news and opinions on Arsenal’s first team, so stay tuned!

The loss to Aston Villa all but ends Arsenal’s title aspirations. If they are to be any threat they need to win all of their games to the end of the year, a tall order from this squad.

What the recent games revealed is a Gunner’s team which lacks spine down the middle, has a midfield with no bite, and does not play well when they concede the first goal. They have the ability to compete with the best but they are plagued with inconsistency.

The biggest problem is in midfield where Denilson just isn’t a holding midfielder. Too often he’s in the same area of the field as Cesc and not providing the kind of cover the Gunners need. I really thought Song would play today to stiffen the midfield, but Wenger went with Denilson and we came off second best in midfield. Would Song have made a difference? I don’t know, perhaps a little.

Bendtner has proved that he cannot play the role of lone striker. Wenger sent him on a fool’s errand out there and too often he looked stranded and ineffective. He plays better when partnered with another striker.

The only time we were dangerous was when Walcott had the ball. Nasri had a forgettable game today and Cesc looked tired and harried.

Defensively, we appear vulnerable much too often. Manchester United opened us up five or six times and couldn’t convert. Today Villa did the same thing and did convert. The Gunners lack a solid back four and one watches them play with one’s heart in one’s throat the entire game.

Arsenal have a better chance winning the Champion’s League than the Premier League. The tight aggressive style of English football works against them. The referees in domestic games let the Gunner’s opponents get away with much more physical play.

Arsene Wenger needs to break down and buy a holding midfielder, someone who can add more muscle to the Arsenal midfield. If the team loses another game by December 31st, we might as well kiss this season goodbye.