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Arsenal reveal the players going to the Asia Tour with a few big name absentees including the likes of Monreal and Cazorla due to their Spain confederations cup commitments. Captain Thomas Vermaelen is now out of the tour due to a back injury and the Arsenal medics have told him to stay behind for further treatment.
Also absent are new signing Yaya Sanogo who is still at the U20's World Cup with France and Gervinho who is out with illness. Below is the full list of the 24 man squad going to the Pre Season Tour to Asia.
Arsenal Players Travel To Asia Pictures Click Here
Thomas Vermaelen give us his update on his injury on Twitter
Unfortunately, due to a back injury I can’t join my team mates on the Asia Tour the next few weeks. I will be staying in London...1/2 — Thomas Vermaelen (@T_Vermaelen05) July 11, 2013
...to receive the right treatment. Of course I will do my best to return on the pitch soon, and I will keep you posted on my progress. 2/2 — Thomas Vermaelen (@T_Vermaelen05) July 11, 2013
The season is over as of completing an unbelievable run of a 10-games unbeatable (8 wins) which was enough to keep us in the Top 4. Let's highlight individual efforts and precious moments of a very challenging year for the Arsenal Team.
Match of the Season
Bayern Munich 0 - 2 Arsenal
This was the game that made Arsenal gain confidence. It proved to be a catalyst to an amazing run in the Premiere League. Additionally, dropping out of the Team our captain Thomas Vermaelen and Wojciech Szczesny due to their poor forms, proved to be one of the best decisions Wenger made this year.
Best Defender
Laurent Koscienly
From a good defender last year he improved dramatically in 2013. In my opinion, right know, he is one of the strongest defenders in the world. His dedication, determination and bravery were significant. Through his career he had a lot of lows but right know he can simply make the difference. The partnership of Mertesacker and Koscienly is one of the most consistent ones. Wenger finally found the perfect combination in defense after experimenting for years.
Best Miedfielder
Santi Cazorla
What can I say about this amazing player ? He is probably one of the best players Wenger managed to sign in recent years. His talent and his vision, which made an impact since the first game, are simply exceptional. One of the most exceptional players this season proved to be the most consistent one. He played overall 48 games, scored 12 goals (all of them in EPL), and provided 16 assists.
Best Forward
Theo Walcott
Theo is becoming better and better and his record of goals this year comes of no surprise. He proved to be one of the most proactive players on the field this year and a true Gunner. His contract extension came as a very happy ending. After all of those players who left, he was one of the first ones to sign an extension to his contract. This addressed a change of policy from a feeder club to an ambitious one, which aims for glory.
Player of the Season Now for this part you are going to choose your favorite Player of the Season 2012-13
Leave comments of which Moments, Games or Players were your favorite ones this season and your opinion about the awards.
Captain Thomas Vermaelen wants the Arsenal to carry on the great run of form as the race for the Champions League places heats up. The Gunners are now gone on a 4 game winning streak since beating Bayern Munich in the second leg. Here is what Vermaelen had to say :
“In the second half we conceded a goal and we've shown before that we always fight back. You could see that today and we scored three good goals at the end.
“Norwich were not really dangerous in front of goal. Their goal was their first attempt but we knew they were strong at set-pieces and we conceded a goal from one today. That's a bit of a shame but I think we came back really strong.
Scorer of the second goal Olivier Giroud spoke to the Arsenal player on his delight of getting all three points and pointed to the Arsenal's never say die attitude the reason for the comeback.
“We feel relieved tonight because we had a bad start,” he told Arsenal Player. “We had some chances to score but we didn't succeed to in the first half.
“In the second half, Norwich scored from a free-kick. We knew [that was where they are strong] so we need to be more concentrated at set pieces. Fortunately we had a good run and succeeded to score three times.
“We never give up and we try to play until the end of the game so it's one of our qualities.
Join in with our Arsenal community, we have connected with the Disqus comment system, it is now easier to comment on our posts to connect and talk with the Arsenal fans around the world. You can now post a comment using your Social Networks plugins or if you don't want to leave your name you can sign in as a guest. What did you think of the game? Was it a penalty? Are we going to finish 4th or 3rd? let us know below!
Arsene Wenger & Thomas Vermaelen spoke to the media ahead of the crucial 2nd leg tie with Bayern Munich with most people calling it the mission impossible to beat the German leaders, needing at least 3 goals at The Allianz Arena to have any chance of going through.
Although Arsene hasn't given hope just yet. "It is not mission impossible," said the manager. "It can be done, but first of all you need 100 per cent commitment, attitude and things to go your way. But usually football goes your way when you have the right attitude. The boss also explained the situation with Szczesny, as his surprise exclusion from the travelling squad.“I decided to give him a breather just to refresh him and [so that he would] not be under increasing pressure, because once people start speaking about you, you think, ‘Now I cannot afford any [errors]’ and that's when you make mistakes.”
Thomas Vermaelen wants to repay the faith the manager has shown the whole squad by putting in a performance against Bayern. “He has worked for a long time at this Club and he's done a lot for it. We want to give him something back because he gives us confidence and belief. Find out more in what they both had to say in the video below.
