Thierry Henry: I'll be back

Thierry Henry has vouched to bounce back next season for the Gunners after being ruled out for the rest of the season. The Arsenal captain damaged stomach and groin muscles after appearing as a substitute in Wednesday night Champions League exit to PSV Eindhoven.

Speaking to The Sun newspaper, the 29-year-old said: "I am obviously devastated. I will miss the rest of the season. It is a tough end to what has been a difficult season for me. It has been very frustrating.

"But I hope to get back to full fitness soon and will then look forward to having a great season with Arsenal next year."

Henry's comments will momentarily end speculation that the Frenchman has played his last game for the North London club.

It will help convince manager Arsene Wenger that his side's talismanic striker will continue providing his much-needed experience to Arsenal's young side.

Henry has suffered his worst season in six years with the Gunners, after being ruled out for much of the campaign with niggling injuries following a demanding year on the pitch.

His appearance from the bench on during Wednesday's 1-1 draw at the Emirates, which saw Arsenal crash out 2-1 on aggregate to Ronald Koeman's Dutch side, came after recovering from a foot injury.

A previous problem with his neck had sidelined the skipper for almost two months - his longest period out of an Arsenal shirt.

But Henry remains confident of returning stronger for the Gunners next term, and hopes his young side will continue to grown in his absence.

Her said: "This setback will make me even more determined, yet it has certainly been one thing after another.

"Last season was a very long one for me, right up to the Champions League final and then the World Cup final with France.

"I only had a few weeks' break and then the Premiership started.

"First of all, there was the sciatic nerve problem, which kept me out for a while. Then, most recently of all, the foot injury. Now these injuries against PSV.

"Any player will tell you it is not nice sitting in the stands watching our team play. You would always rather be out there on the pitch.

"But, hopefully, our young team can enjoy a good end to the season.

"People must remember, most of them are still young and they have to be given time."

Premiership, Arsenal 2-1 Reading

Gunners back to winning ways

Arsenal moved to within one point of third-placed Liverpool with a deserved but, at the end, nervous victory. Cesc Fabregas mis-kicked in front of an open goal but Gilberto Silva put Arsenal in front from the penalty spot after Andre Bikey fouled Gael Clinchy.

This was a worthy victory for Arsenal, yet the afternoon began with Arsenal team in their default setting of seething frustration, dominating possession but struggling to expose chinks in a tightly-packed defence.

Shorn of Emmanuel Adebayor and Thierry Henry, their finishing was painfully profligate, with Cesc Fabregas the biggest culprit. Barely a minute had passed when the Spaniard was set up by Alexander Hleb, but his touch deserted him and Andre Bikey raced back to whip the ball from his toes. Then, in the 29th minute, Fabregas missed a chance that will give him sleepless nights for weeks to come. After James Harper failed to clear a loose ball, Baptista seized possession and squared to Fabregas four yards out. The 19-year-old swung his right boot but missed his shot entirely, the ball bouncing off his standing leg before bobbling clear.

In the 50th minute, Bikey, desperately attempting to keep up with the livewire Denilson, appeared to pull back at Denilson's shirt before becoming entangled with his legs. It was enough to convince Chris Foy, the referee, to award a penalty which Gilberto converted with surgical precision.

A second goal seemed inevitable and it duly arrived in the 61st minute. After a Reading corner had fizzled out, Arsenal streaked downfield at breakneck speed: Denilson slipped a pass to Baptista, who barged past Graeme Murty before toe-poking into the bottom corner.

With the game seemingly over, Reading woke up. Steve Sidwell headed over from a corner and then shot wastefully wide from close range, before Fabregas diverted a corner into his own net.

Arsenal boss Arsene Wenger:
"We could have done better, we looked a bit shaky at 2-1.

"We missed a few chances in the second half because we were slow to make important decisions.

"Reading were positive and dangerous and played in an intelligent way. They are one of the few teams that have come here and tried to play."

Reading boss Steve Coppell:
"We had opportunities, but credit to Arsenal - they were very, very patient and when they are in front they play with a different tempo.

"They controlled possession for long periods but we responded to that and played a full part in the game.

"We now have 14 days without a game. We can take stock and recharge out batteries, which is important."

Arsenal: Lehmann, Djourou, Gallas, Silva, Clichy, Ljungberg (Diaby 70), Fabregas, Denilson, Hleb (Senderos 86), Walcott (Aliadiere 71), Julio Baptista.
Subs Not Used: Almunia, Traore.

Booked: Senderos.

Goals: Silva 51 pen, Julio Baptista 62.

Reading: Hahnemann, Murty, Ingimarsson, Bikey, Shorey, Little (Doyle 80), Sidwell, Harper (Gunnarsson 71), Hunt (Oster 65), Kitson, Lita.
Subs Not Used: Federici, Duberry.

Booked: Kitson.

Goals: Fabregas (87 og).

Premier League, Arsenal 2-1 Reading Full highlights and goals:

Adebayor predicts Arsenal glory.

Emmanuel Adebayor is sure Arsenal will be a major force in all competitions next season - and has predicted they can achieve a 100% winning home record.

The Togo international striker has scored 10 goals for the Gunners this term, including two against Bolton in the FA Cup win on Wednesday.

And he said: "We have a young squad getting better and better, and we will be ready for everything next year."

"I think we will get maximum points from every home game next season."

He added: "Our aim is to be up there with Manchester United and Chelsea in the league and I believe we can be."

But there is the small matter of Arsenal's involvement in the Carling Cup final, the FA Cup and the Champions League before that.

And Adebayor is relishing the chance to win some silverware with the club he joined from Monaco in January 2006.

"This season we still have great opportunities for success," he said.

"Getting through in the FA Cup at a place like Bolton has given us an enormous amount of confidence.

"It was great for me to get two goals and you could see from our reaction at the end of the game how much the win meant to us."

Bolton 1-3 Arsenal FA Cup

Ljungberg puts Arsenal through on roller coaster

Freddie Ljungberg and Emmanuel Adebayor struck in extra time to give Arsenal an FA Cup fifth round tie with Blackburn - despite missing two penalties.

Adebayor's early goal looked to have put Arsenal through, but Gilberto Silva's penalty miss gave Bolton hope. Abdoulaye Meite scrambled a last-gasp equaliser, but substitute Ljungberg was on target after 108 minutes.Bolton's Tal Ben Haim was sent off and Julio Baptista missed Arsenal's second spot-kick before Adebayor scored again.

Pre match video and Kick Off:

Arsenal were missing the likes of Thierry Henry, Jens Lehmann and Cesc Fábregas and Wenger was indebted to some defiant goalkeeping from Manuel Almunia and some rhythmic performances from Denilson, Alex Hleb and Tomas Rosicky. Hleb, one of their more lightweight players, epitomised their attitude with his desire to get on the ball at every opportunity. Abou Diaby, their tall, wiry French midfielder, provided a robust presence while, in attack, Baptista and Adebayor caused numerous problems with their marauding runs - even if they will both reflect that they could have scored hat-tricks.

Bolton boss Sam Allardyce:
"We are just disappointed that we did not pull off a miraculous victory.

"We weren't over-awed and always had the ability to hang in there, even though it was difficult at times.

"It was a great effort and commitment from the players and they were brilliant right through to extra time."

Arsenal boss Arsene Wenger:
"I think it was a fantastic cup tie and a fantastic performance from my team and we were outstanding.

"It was frustrating to go to extra time, but it's a good mental test.

"You concede with one minute to go and it's a good challenge for such young players to see how they respond - and we found resources to win it."

Bolton: Jaaskelainen, Campo, Meite, Ben Haim, Gardner (Pedersen 84), Giannakopoulos (Vaz Te 74), Teymourian (Tal 84), Speed, Nolan, Diouf, Anelka.
Subs Not Used: Walker, Fojut.

Sent Off: Ben Haim (117).

Booked: Ben Haim, Campo, Anelka.

Goals: Meite 90.

Arsenal: Almunia, Diaby, Toure, Djourou (Hoyte 92), Clichy, Hleb (Ljungberg 78), Silva, Denilson, Rosicky (Aliadiere 90), Adebayor, Julio Baptista.
Subs Not Used: Poom, Walcott.

Booked: Ljungberg.

Goals: Adebayor 13, Ljungberg 108, Adebayor 120.

Match Highlights and goals:

Wenger eager to overcome Emirates problem.

Arsene Wenger accepts Arsenal continue to be slow starters at the Emirates Stadium - but backed the 'character and resilience' of his side to see them through.
Not for the first time this season, the Gunners found themselves trailing at their new 60,000-seater home when Denny Landzaat fired struggling Wigan into a first-half lead with a brilliant strike. But Arsenal regrouped following the interval and hit back to level through an own goal from Fitz Hall before Tomas Rosicky's late winner consolidated their position in fourth place in the Premiership - now just one point behind Liverpool with a match in hand.

Wenger understands the need to avoid constantly making life difficult for themselves at home. 'It is down to us to show more consistency,' said the Arsenal manager. 'They were on top of us - but we never decide to put ourselves in that position. 'Everybody comes here and starts very well, whereas we find it difficult. But usually other teams drop in the final part of the game and that is where our character and resilience comes through.'

Henry admitted the Gunners had been somewhat fortunate. Henry said: 'Mathieu Flamini was offside so sometimes you have to put your hands up when you score goals like that. 'You cannot be too proud about it. Sometimes it goes against you and sometimes it goes for you. You have to be honest when it goes for you to say it out loud.'

Tottenham 2-2 Arsenal (1st Leg)

Carling Cup: Spurs Mess Up Golden Opportunity;

Julio Baptista went from zero to hero for Arsenal as they held Tottenham in an absorbing Carling Cup semi-final first-leg tie at White Hart Lane. Dimitar Berbatov gave Spurs the lead heading in after a mix-up between Manuel Almunia and Kolo Toure.

Berbatov injured his groin and soon had to be replaced by Robbie Kean with Jol electing to revert to a 4-5-1 formation with Jermain Defoe up front on his own. The tactic seemed to be working when Tom Huddlestone's free-kick was kicked into his own net by Julio Baptista as the Brazilian tried to clear the ball.

Match Highlights:

Spurs had the tie in their hands, but will surely be left wondering why they didn't push home their advantage from this point. They were fortunate to go in at half-time with their 2-0 lead intact but in the second half their luck ran out as they were outclassed by a weakened Arsenal side.

Although the first-team players of Eboue and Hleb were introduced and the duo helped further unsettle Spurs Arsenal eventually equalized thanks to two goals by Baptista, who now has six in his last two games in the competition. The second goal was a mess from Spurs' point of view as goalkeeper Paul Robinson inexplicably ran out of his goal to close the angle on an advancing Justin Hoyte, but the youngster just had to cross the ball to Baptista for a simple tap-in.

The two teams will meet again at the Emirates next week when it will be well and truly advantage the home team: Arsenal.

Post match Interviews:

Francesc "Cesc" Fàbregas Soler (born May 4, 1987 in Arenys de Mar, Catalonia, Spain) is a Spanish/Catalan football midfielder, who currently plays for English club Arsenal. signed him from ArsenalFC Barcelona in the middle of 2003, before Fabregas could sign a professional contract with the Spanish giants. He has been touted as one of of the best of Spain's next generation of footballers.

'Cesc', as he prefers to be known, made history in October 2003 when he became the youngest player to turn out for Arsenal, in the Carling Cup tie against Rotherham United. The Spaniard, was aged just 16 years 177 days when he took to the pitch for the Gunners for the first time.

It was not until the start of the 2004-05 season that Fàbregas started making first team appearances in matches outside the League Cup. His first match was against Manchester United in the Community shield; he then had four successive Premier League starts. Fabregas impressed many observers in his first four appearances, claiming a goal against Blackburn in a 3–0 victory. Soon after, he became the second youngest goalscorer in Champions league history after scoring the third goal against Rosenborg, in Arsenal's 5–1 victory.
'Cesc' is a precocious talent of the highest order. His ability for one so young is actually quite frightening. Now watch some of Fabregas assists, goals and misses!