Preview: Arsenal vs Queens Park Rangers

On the last day of 2011, Arsenal take on QPR at 15:00GMT at the Emirates Stadium. Arsenal are coming from a home draw against Wolverhampton Wanderers and QPR are also coming from a draw against Swansea. With Szczesny guarding the Arsenal goal as usual, Arsene Wenger will probably field Djourour, Mertesacker, Koscielny and Vermaelen in defence. Mikel Arteta will probably feature in midfield alongside Ramsey and Song, with the front line being composed of Walcott, Gervinho and star-striker Robin van Persie.

Van Persie stands a chance of breaking a record this Saturday for th biggest amount of goals scored in a calendar year. He is only two goals away from matching Alan Shearer's 36 goal feat. With a hat-trick against QPR, van Persie would break Shearer's record. But the past record is not in Arsenal's favour. In fact, out of 8 Premier League matches in the past played against QPR, Arsenal have won just one match. QPR won two matches and 5 matches finished with a draw.

Another notable milestone would be reached if Arsenal score a goal against QPR, and this would be their 300th goal in a London derby. The last time the two clubs met, Arsenal crushed their opponents QPR 6-0 at away stadium Loftus Road in 2006 in the fourth round of the FA Cup. In Arsenal's last 4 home matches, they have failed to score more than one goal in each game.

Prediction: With QPR failing to win any of their last 6 matches, and Arsenal winning three out of 6, we predict a victory for Arsenal on Saturday. QPR have not kept a clean sheet in their last 9 matches, which means that Arsenal are very likely to score their 300th London derby goal this Saturday. At the Emirates Stadium, Arsenal have lost just once this season, and they are unlikely to register their second home loss of the season against QPR.

Thierry Henry to play for Arsenal for two months at 34 years, joining on loan

Arsenal will look to bring club legend Thierry Henry to the new Emirates Stadium and pair him with in-form Robin van Persie once again. After David Beckham's widely-publicised loan move from United States club LA Galaxy during the off-season in America, it seems that now it's Henry's turn to make a similar move to his old club from New York Red Bulls.

Thierry Henry, who is aged 34 and in his 8 seasons at Arsenal etted 226 goals, will be available for the matches against Manchester United and Tottenham in the Premier League, as well as the Champions League encounter with AC Milan. The move has been officially confirmed by Arsene Wenger himself when he said:

"For two months it certainly will happen. I don't take care of the agreement and the insurance and that is not completed."

"At the moment we cannot announce anything because all the paperwork is not done."

"To cover for two months is ideal. He has the experience and the quality. He knows the club and can help the players on and off the pitch."

"He has exceptional talent and is a very intelligent man, it can only be positive."

"He is still class and has quality. He still has pace. When Robin and Thierry play together we will do very well."

"It shows that Arsenal is always special to players, such as Sol Campbell, Jens Lehmann and now Thierry."

"We are not looking for permanent players unless we lose players, as we have a big squad."

"It was my idea [to bring him back to Arsenal during the off-season in America]. He was happy about it, but it was my idea."

"No-one expects him to be what he was 10 years ago. There's no special pressure, Robin remains our main striker."

Champions League: Arsenal lose 3-1 against Greek club Olympiakos

In a game where Arsenal fielded youth players as they were already ascertained of the first place in the group and qualification, the Londoners could afford a bad result in this match. The fight for qualification in 2nd place was between Marseille and Olympiacos, and the former's victory over Dortmund put them through to the knock-out phase in place of Olympiacos. Arsenal conceded three goals and could only get one goal through Benayoun. Fabianski conceded the first goal by Djebbour and was then substituted in the 25th minute. Young Italian goalkeeper Mannone took his place and conceded a goal by Torrijos in the 36th minute. Benayoun got one back for Arsenal, but they conceded again late in the match in the 89th minute through Modesto. Unlike Manchester City and Manchester United, Arsenal join Chelsea in the Last 16 of the UEFA Champions League, being the only two clubs left representing England.

Watch the highlights of the match below:


Olympiakos Piraeus v Arsenal by arghofar

FA Cup Third Round Draw: Arsenal vs Leeds United

Arsenal have been drawn at home to face Leeds United once more in the Third Round of the FA Cup with Budweiser.

The Gunners will host Simon Grayson's side for the second year running the competition, following the 1-1 draw with the Championship outfit at Emirates Stadium last season.

Arsenal eventually won the replay at Elland Road 3-1, with goals from Samir Nasri, Bacary Sagna and Robin van Persie securing victory.

The fixture will be played on the weekend of January 7.

Third Round draw in full:

Middlesbrough v Shrewsbury
Nottingham Forest v Leicester City
Manchester City v Manchester United
Dagenham & Redbridge/Walsall v Millwall
Crawley v Bristol City
Doncaster v Sutton Utd/Notts County
Bristol Rovers v Aston Villa
Tottenham v Cheltenham Town
Sheffield Wednesday v West Ham
Milton Keynes Dons v QPR
Hull City v Ipswich Town
Coventry v Southampton
Brighton v Wrexham
Fulham v Charlton Athletic
Birmingham v Wolves
Norwich v Burnley
Arsenal v Leeds United
Derby v Crystal Palace
Fleetwood/Yeovil v Blackpool
Swindon v Wigan
Barnsley v Swansea
Chelmsford/Macclesfield v Bolton
Newcastle v Blackburn
Everton v Tamworth
Sheffield United v Salisbury City/Grimsby
Liverpool v Southend/Oldham
Gillingham v Stoke
Chelsea v Portsmouth
Watford v Bradford
Peterborough v Sunderland
West Brom v Cardiff
Reading v Stevenage

Source: http://www.arsenal.com/news/news-archive/arsenal-to-face-leeds-united-in-the-fa-cup

Arsenal win 4-0 against Wigan Athletic

On the 3rd December, Arsenal registered a 4-0 victory over Wigan, demolishing the team's tactical plan. Wigan drew widespread criticism for their performance. The goals of Arsenal came from Arteta and Vermaelen (back to back in the 28th and 29th minutes respectively, Gervinho in the 61st minute and star player van Persie in the 78th minute. Watch the highlights of the match below:


Wigan Athletic v Arsenal by mbabpool