Welcome Park Chu-Young

Out of all of their heroes, many Korean football fans felt that it was Lee Chung-Yong who would one day play for Arsenal. Park Chu-Young, not so much. It was different back in 2005 when he was the hottest property in Asia and linked with Chelsea just weeks after making his professional debut. Then, it was assumed he would end up at the elite. Six years later, he is set to sign for the Gunners though not in time to face Park Ji-Sung, his predecessor as South Korean captain, in the English Premier League. Such a meeting would have organizers at the World Athletic Championships in the striker's hometown of Daegu which started the same day as his arrival in London for a medical, wondering where all the Korean journalists had gone.

GettyImagesPark Chu-Young suffered relegation heartache with Monaco last season, but things are looking up for him now

The first event in Daegu was the marathon, an apt description of how a gruelling summer of speculation must have felt for Park. The starting gun was fired in June as he returned home following the relegation of his French club AS Monaco to be asked about where he would go next. With 12 goals in his third season, almost a third of the club's total despite a mid-season knee injury that kept him out of the Asian Cup in January (damage sustained due to a goal celebration that went wrong) it was expected that there would be offers for Korea's number one striker.

He replied that he wanted Champions League football. Fast forward to the end of the summer and just after Arsenal confirmed their place in the tournament; he was on his way to London. It seemed that the player grew as tired with all the talk of Liverpool, Bolton, Schalke, Milan, Lille, PSG etc as by the time he returned home again in August, he avoided reporters at the airport by the old 'talking on the phone' routine, something that Lille's president complained Park didn't do before heading to London.

The news was big in Korea. Park Chu-Young is no Ji Dong-Won. The Sunderland striker could walk down the streets of Seoul without being recognized but that has been difficult for Park, 26, since even before he became professional in 2005 with FC Seoul - upsetting Pohang Steelers who had expected to secure his signature. His performance at the 2004 Asian Youth Championships put him on the map. So much so that dealing with the pressure at a club like Arsenal should not be a problem, he has been burdened with an entire nation's expectations ever since he started his pro career. His first nicknames were 'Football Genius' and 'Korea's Hope'. Everywhere he went with Seoul in the first half of that first season, attendances doubled, tripled and more and within months he was the face of FIFA's console games in his homeland.

But he scored goals. A hat-trick in his first home game for Seoul got him going and he ended the season as the league's top scorer. National team coach Jo Bonfrere resisted calls to select him for a while but not too long. His first call-up came three months after his professional debut and in a vital World Cup qualifier in Uzbekistan in early June 2005, he came up with a crucial last-minute equalizer. Four days later he scored again as Korea won 4-0 in Kuwait to secure qualification for Germany. Every time he took the step to the next level, he shone.

That was as good as it got for a while. Bonfrere's replacement Dick Advocaat was less impressed with the striker, criticizing his lack of movement. The Dutchmen selected the youngster against Switzerland in Korea's final group game but he was anonymous. By then, the backlash at home had begun as had the inevitable slump. He stopped scoring and stopped looking like he knew how to score. He was sometimes shifted out to the wing, sometimes to the bench and sometimes to the treatment room with niggly knocks that disturbed his rhythm. The memory of Park's early days kept him in the headlines, though they were not happy ones. Always taciturn and unsmiling as soon as a microphone came his way, the smiles reserved for team-mates also started to fade. Park looked like he was no longer enjoying his football.

The move to Monaco in the summer of 2008 came at the right time. Out of one of the busiest and biggest cities in the world to much more relaxed surroundings of the Mediterranean, Park started to improve his game. Never an instinctive goalpoacher - his finishing has improved but still could be better - he is an intelligent striker (literally, with an IQ of 150), with the ability to bring others into the game and technically sound. Good in the air, he is also good with a dead, and even with a Jabulani, ball, scoring with a direct free-kick against Nigeria in South Africa. For his country, Park started to show the more mature side to his game in 2009 with regular goals and impressive all-round play and it was no surprise when he had a good World Cup.

GettyImagesPark Chu-Young has never lived up to his massive early hype in South Korea

Jerome de Bontin, the Monaco president who signed Park on the final day of the August 2008 transfer window, openly admitted that the club was looking to sign players who could expand the club's commercial reach as well as strengthen the team on the pitch. Freddy Adu didn't tick either box while Monaco were never able to make use of Park's standing in East Asia. Games were shown live but early-morning interest in the fate of a mid-table, at best, French team playing in empty stadiums was low. It may be tiresome, and usually wrong, to talk of an Asian signing with commercial benefits but in this case, Arsenal will have possibilities to explore.

It will be tempered by Park's military duty, a small shadow over the signing that will only grow as his time to return home in 2013 to serve for two years gets closer. Signing for Arsenal won't change that. The only thing that will is a medal in next summer's Olympics. Just as the 2002 team earned exemption for their semi-final heroics, the same could happen in London. Assuming Korea qualify, Park is almost certain to be one of the three over-age players, his last chance to miss the call-up.

So this is probably his only chance to play for a truly big club which explains his decision to drop everything at Lille. Park has the talent and the attitude to play in the Premier League, no doubt, but whether he has what it takes to make a top team like Arsenal that little bit better, is another question entirely. It is one that all of South Korea will be hoping that Park can answer positively.

Arsenal wrap up £3million deal for Chu-Young Park

ARSENAL have finalised the £3million signing of South Korea captain Chu-Young Park from Monaco.

The 26-year-old striker has signed a two-year deal at the Emirates and will wear the No9 shirt this season.

Park, who scored 25 goals in 91 appearances during his three-year spell in France and played at both the 2006 and 2010 World Cups, said: "I am very honoured and feel very happy to be at Arsenal.

The Gunners signed star from under the noses of Lille, who were convinced they had reached an agreement for the player to join them on Saturday.

He added: "It is a dream to be here and I am really proud to be an Arsenal player. Now I just want to show how good I am and prove myself.

"In my opinion this is a great club, now I have to show what I can do on the pitch.

"I will do my best, I will never give up, I will show heart, I will give everything and I hope [the fans] will support me."

Arsenal boss Arsene Wenger added: "We are delighted to have signed Park.

"He will add true quality to our attacking forces and will be a valuable addition to the squad."

Arsenal Confirm Signing Of Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain In £15m Deal

Arsenal have confirmed the signing of Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain from Southampton on a long-term contract with the youngster going straight into the first team squad.

The 17-year-old is thought to have joined Arsenal in a £15m deal, with the Gunners paying £12m up front with a further £3m in add-ons.

Oxlade-Chamberlain is a versatile attacker who can play in several positions up front and in midfield and is incredibly quick, drawing comparisons with fellow ex-Saints star Theo Walcott. Speaking to Arsenal.com, manager Arsene Wenger said:

“We are delighted that Alex has decided to join us.

“He is an exciting young player who will provide us with creativity and offensive quality. Alex is a versatile player who can play in a number of positions. He can play as an attacking centre midfielder, or wide left and right.

“Alex is a perceptive passer of the ball and has a great understanding of the game and looks to be a very good team player.”

Wenger continued: “Alex has done extremely well during his development with Southampton and we are looking forward to him progressing even further and fulfilling his huge potential with Arsenal Football Club.”

Oxlade-Chamberlain said:

“I’m so excited to be joining Arsenal. It’s a fantastic club and I’m really looking forward to the opportunity of playing football at the highest level.

“Arsenal have a great manager in Arsène Wenger, top quality players and an attractive style of play. These were all important factors in me choosing to sign for Arsenal.

“I’m proud to be joining Arsenal, but I would also like to take this opportunity to thank everyone at Southampton for their help and support during the early part of my career, for which I will always be grateful.”

“I’m now looking forward to meeting all my new team mates and giving absolutely everything in an Arsenal shirt.”

Arsenal vs Liverpool

The Game

We needed a Pepe Reina late gift to get a point when we played Liverpool in the first game of the season and in a way, that game was indeed the picture of things to come.

Facing a Liverpool team that was going through the tough migration from Benitez to Hodgson – then sacked after failing to properly replace the Spaniard – we went down after David Ngog made no mistake in beating Manuel Almunia at his near post, then indeed needing a goalkeeping mistake to level things up despite playing the whole second half with eleven against ten.

A lot of things changed since then but others stayed the same, such as Arsene’s persistence in highlighting the “mental strength” of his players, the strength funnily enough mentioned after a win but never questioned after a disappointing result.

And I was bewildered at his “we turned the corner” statement after the Blackpool game. I mean after one month without any wins, a month in which we saw some of the problems that have been troubling us for years, considering a win against a relegation-zone team as a sign that we turned the corner is a little bit too much, isn’t it?

Now before you jump to quick conclusions such as that I’m a “glory hunter”, the reason why these comments “annoy” me is because for me, this squad, these players, are good enough to dominate in England and Europe. This, will never happen if our manager insists on saying that we have mental strength and we successfully bounced back from cup exists just because we defeated a struggling relegation-zone team.

Having said that, today’s game, however, could answer some questions, not all, but some of them. The Reds will be determined to keep their positive run going and our defensive department will have in Andy Carroll and Luis Suarez two very difficult clients to deal with.

There will be no room for a lapse of concentration, no room for mistakes and when we get a chance in the final third we will have to take it. And also, yes, it will be important for all those at the Emirates to use their voice in the same way they did when we played Barcelona in the Champions League.

Elsewhere, I’m sure Manchester United’s defeat against Manchester City brought a big smile on the face of many of you but I would be careful as it is not easy to understand how the Red Devils will react, that is, whether they will suffer a mental blow as we did after losing the League Cup Final or react like lions, shifting their focus on their two, remaining targets.

As Arsene said, tomorrow’s game promises to be an open, entertaining game of football and with Chelsea beating West Bromwich Albion away from home yesterday, we desperately need all three points if we are to keep our title hopes alive and not worry about losing the second place in the table.

As always, my favourite line-up is below. Remember you can submit your own at Arsenal Interactive and then share it on Twitter and Facebook.

Favourite line-up

Wojciech Szczesny, Johan Djourou and Alex Song are all back and as it is almost the case when players are back from injuries, one has to be careful.

Arsene confirmed that Wojciech will start in goal in his pre-match press conference adding that Johan and Alex will have to take a late fitness test to decide whether to start or not. In my opinion, Johan has to start if we are to stand a chance against Liverpool’s offensive duo.

As for Alex, I honestly believe Abou can adequately replace him, provided he wakes up on the right side of bed. I was tempted to actually put Alex and Abou in the team alongside Cesc, relegating Jack on the bench, but even if he looked tired against Blackpool, how on earth can you keep out of the team our best player of the season?

Up front, I would start with Samir on the left, Theo on the right and of course Robin up front. Having said that, if Andrey starts in place of Theo I will not be disappointed and that is because we all know the Russian can be a big, big asset when we play against “big” teams.

Finally, the more I think about it, the more I realise there is no room for Nicklas Bendtner in this team and I will not be surprised if he asks to leave during the summer transfer window.

Can rvp make it too this list? Top 10 Premier League Scorers of All TIME

Can ROBIN VAN PERSIE JOIN THIS LIST.

10th – Ian Wright, 113 goals

Image: Source

The man who held Arsenals Scoring record before one Thierry Henry came along.

He won the title with Arsenal in 97/98, his final season for the team, which was his lowest scoring season for the gunners, with only 10 league goals.He had15,23,18,15,23 and 10 on his trophy year. He spent one more season in the top flight , with West Ham, scoring 9 goals for the club before he started zigzagging between clubs until his retirement after the 99/00 season. His best finish in the scoring charts was 2nd in the 96/97 season, 2 goals shy of Shearer.

9th – Dwight Yorke, 123 goals (Still Active)

Image: Source

The 37 year old Trinidad & Tobago Striker still treads the EPL waters, although not as often as before(Only 3 appearances for Sunderland this season so far). Played for Villa, Man U, Blackburn, Birmingham City and currently with Sunderland, but will mostly be remembered for his partnership with Andrew Cole, leading the red devils in 98/99 to a memorable treble. Yorke had only 5 seasons in which he scored 10+ out of his 14 EPL seasons so far but he’s a long distance runner I guess. His best came in 99/00, leading Man U to another League title with 20 goals, finishing 3rd behind Kevin Phillips and Alan Shearer. In 98/99 he scored 18, but it was enough for 3-way joined top scorer title along Owen and Jimmy Floyd Hasselbaink.

8th – Jimmy Floyd Hasselbaink, 127 goals

Image: Source

Jerrel “Jimmy Floyd” Hasselbaink had a tough time staying in one place for long except for his Chelsea time(4 years… wow!!) but the goals came none the less. 2 seasons for Leeds, 4 for the Blues, 2 for Boro and one forgettable season with Charlton were enough for the Suriname born Dutchman to put his name in history books. He never won the league title with any of his teams, but he did win the scoring title twice. In 98/99 he finished 1st in a 3-way win alongside Michael Owen and Dwight Yorke, with 18. In 00/01 he won it with no competition, 23 goals to his tally. He had 23 the next season as well, but it was enough for 2nd behind Thierry Henry.

7th – Michael Owen, 144 goals (Still active)

Image: Source

Only 29, if that thing called injuries wasn’t a term so familiar to the baby face striker, Owen would probably be number 2 on this list right now, heading strong towards number one. But Fantasy aside, Owen, injured or not, scored goals. 144 in 278 games is not too shabby. Playing for Liverpool and Currently Newcastle, he has never scored less than 11 goals when playing more than 20 games a season. Has 8 season of 10+ goals, with his best coming in 01/02 and 02/03, scoring 19. In 97/98 and 98/99 he finished joint top scorer, with 18 goals in each season. Can he bounce back from his recent injury to improve his place in the stat sheets of history? We hope so.

6th – Teddy Sheringham, 147 goals

Image: Source

An unlikely candidate to become one of the top EPL scorers of all time if you take a glance at his career stats – Starting at Millwall, playing at Aldershot and even Swedish side Djurgarden doesn’t usually earn you a shot at glory. But Teddy moved on to better and bigger, and by moving to Nott. Forest and then Tottenham, he started his top flight and Premier League Career. Even though his first goal came for Forest, and the bulk of goals came at White Heart Lane, he’ll be remembered, like Dwight Yorke and Andrew Cole, for that 98/99 team that won the legendary treble. He’s won 3 Championships, all with United but his best scoring year came in the EPL inaugural year, when Teddy scored 22 goals, earning him the golden boot.

5th – Les Ferdinand, 149 goals

Image: Source

Like Sheringham, Leslie(!!!!) “Les” Ferdinand had a weird foreign spell, one season for Turkish Club Beskitas before returning to the English game, better than ever , and boy was he. He played for Q.P.R in that 92/93 season, and in 3 Premier League seasons with them had 20,16 and 24 goals each. He scored 41 goals in the next 2 seasons for Newcastle, missing out on a championship each time. Then came Tottenham, which is synonymous for disappointment, having trouble regaining his early 90′s scoring form, but injuries and age did their bit. He had a bit of a revival with Leicester City during 03/04, scoring 12 goals, but that was the swan song for Les. He holds a remarkable record of being the first player to score a Premier League goal for 6 different clubs(Q.P.R, Newcastle, Spurs, West Ham, Leicester and Bolton). His best season was in 95/96, when he netted 25, finishing 3rd to Shearer and Fowler.

4th – Robbie Fowler, 163 goals (Still Active)

Image: Source

Robbie started out with a bang, scoring 83 goals in his first 4 seasons as a pro, all for Liverpool of course, but than slowly faded when injuries started racking up on his skillful legs. Still Active, recently signing with Australian side North Queensland Fury, but it’ll be a safe bet to say he won’t be scoring any more Premiership goals. He played and scored some for Leeds and Man City where he reunited with Steve McManaman, but Fowler will always be remembered as a Liverpool man, although he was an Everton fan as a child(They forgive those who score). His best came during the 95/96 season, when the leading man of the “spice-boys” scored 28 goals, finishing second to Alan Shearer’s 31.

3rd – Thierry Henry, 174 goals (Still Active)

Image: Source

If Mourinho is the special one, than Henry is the Elegant one. Arsene Wenger got him out of his Juventus hell, and English football was never the same. A wonderful Arsenal side which one 2 championships and reached one Champions League Final was led by Henry, who scored and scored and scored relentlessly for the Gunners. 174 goals in 254 games, never going below 10 goals a season. Henry is currently playing for Barcelona and has lost a step or two the past 2-3 years, but can still get those goals(12 so far this season) maybe hasn’t said his final word regarding English Football. He was the Premiership’s top scorer 4 times, in 01/02(24 goals), and 3 straight times between 2003 to 2006, with 30, 25 and 27, and will eventually be remembered as one of the best forwards and players of this decade.

2nd – Andrew Cole, 187 goals

Image: Source

Andy later to be known as Andrew Cole took his time before bursting on to the National scene, but he made a very nice impression. Scoring 34 goals in 40 during the 93/94 season for Newcastle brought the attention of the football world, and Alex Ferguson who purchased him midway through the 94/95 season. Despite scoring 5 goals in one game that year(poor Ipswich),still a record, and generally being an efficient striker Cole never struck a chord with United fans… Maybe his tendency to miss was a key factor in that. But he did get some… although he never got close to 34, he had 6 more seasons of 10+ goals for various Premiership clubs, including Man U, Blackburn, Fulham, Man City and Pompy. He won 5 league titles with United and was top scorer of the league once, but will probably be forgotten in the pages of history, due to him being good and not exceptional as most expected of him after his transfer to Man U.

1st – Alan Shearer, 260 goals

Image: Source

Well… for Shearer like for all of the guys before him the numbers speak for themselves. But they do that much more strongly for Alan. An Icon at both Blackburn and Newcastle, his 260 seems to be out of reach for what seems to be quite a long time.Scored an amazing 112 in 138 for rovers in 4 seasons, including 34 in that historic championship season. His move to Newcastle made him for a short while the most expensive player in the world, and while not bringing the league title to St. James’ park, he managed to score 148 goals in 303 matches for the Jordies. He won the scoring title in 94/95, 95/96 and 97. He has 3 seasons with 30+ goals, 7 of 20+ and 11 of 10+. He wasn’t fast or too quick, but had a cannon for a leg and was very effective in the air(his elbows helped) and his “Player of the decade” award, handed to him on the marking of the EPL first 10 years pretty much says it all about how great Shearer was to his teams and to English football in general.