Van Persie takes PFA prize

Gunners striker claims top gong in end of season awards

Robin van Persie: Named PFA Player of the Year by his peers

Arsenal striker Robin van Persie has been named the Professional Footballers' Association Player of the Year.

Van Persie took the honour ahead of Manchester City trio Sergio Aguero, David Silva and Joe Hart, Tottenham midfielder Scott Parker and Manchester United striker Wayne Rooney.
Holland international van Persie, 28, has scored 27 Premier League goals this season for the Gunners - his most fruitful campaign for the club - and was humbled to be recognised by his peers.

"It is very special because you are playing against them week in week out and every single player does everything to win and in the end if they make up their minds that I'm the best player it is a big honour."
Robin van Persie Quotes of the week

"If other people are saying it, it is special, but it is even more special if your opponents are saying it," he said.
"It is very special because you are playing against them week in week out and every single player does everything to win and in the end if they make up their minds that I'm the best player it is a big honour."
Van Persie may have picked up the top individual honour but he was quick to point out it would not have been possible without his team-mates.
"Without them I could not have achieved it,'' he said. "For example Theo Walcott, he has given me more than 12 assists and I do really appreciate that."
Van Persie was utilised mainly as a second striker, and occasionally out on the wing, in the early stages of his Gunners career after being signed by manager Arsene Wenger from Feyenoord in 2004.
But he has flourished since switching to the centre-forward role - despite initially not having been convinced he could make the transition.
He said: "Now I am (confident). To be fair, when I first went there I wasn't really as confident and I wasn't really sure I could do it. It took a bit of time but after a couple of months a slowly realised I could do a good job there."
The PFA Merit award was presented to Preston defender Graham Alexander in recognition of his services to the game, dating back to his debut as a Scunthorpe player in 1991.
The Scotland international went on to play for Luton, Preston and Burnley before returning to Deepdale in 2011 and was humbled with the award of the trophy.
"To get recognition for what you have done in your career at any stage is great," he said. "I'm coming towards the end of my playing career and I'm privileged to be recognised by the people who I have played against for the last 20-odd years."

 

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Gunners News : Arsenal 0-0 Chelsea

Much-changed Blues hold on for point ahead of vital second leg against Barcelona

The Gunners could not break down Roberto Di Matteo's side in a match which failed to really spark at the Emirates Stadium, with both sides lacking quality when attacking

much-changed Chelsea team held out to secure a 0-0 draw in a largely lacklustre affair against Arsenal at the Emirates Stadium.
Chelsea's 1-0 victory over Barcelona in the Champions League had evidently taken its toll on the starting XI involved in that match as Roberto Di Matteo made eight changes to his team.
The Blues were still able to hold their own, however, and frustrated the Gunners for the most part despite lacking a touch of class in attack that may have enabled them to take more than one point from the game.
Chelsea will have their sights focused on the second leg of their European semi-final and the upcoming FA Cup final but the stalemate does give Tottenham, who have a game in hand, the chance to pull four points clear of Roberto Di Matteo's team in the race to finish in the top four.
Arsene Wenger looked to add some spark to his side following their disappointing 2-1 loss to Wigan by introducing Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain into the side in place of Yossi Benayoun, who was ineligible to feature against his parent club. Aaron Ramsey replaced the injured Mikel Arteta while Laurent Koscielny and Kieran Gibbs returned to the back four.
The Chelsea changes included the introduction of young left-back Ryan Bertrand ahead of Ashley Cole, while Fernando Torres replaced Didier Drogba in attack, with the Ivorian left out of the squad entirely.
The Blues looked happy to sit back and absorb pressure in the early stages when Arsenal gained possession but looked sharp and threatening when they sprung out of their compact defensive shape to attack.
Torres nicked the ball away after some diligent defensive work in the Arsenal half on a couple of occasions but despite moving the ball well in midfield Chelsea could not take advantage in attack. Salomon Kalou half-heartedly appealed for a penalty after he had lost control of the ball when through on goal on the left-hand side, but it was correctly waved away.
The home side slowly grew into the game, though, and wasted a golden chance to take the lead after 14 minutes. Theo Walcott guided a superb free-kick towards the back post that dropped into the lap of Robin van Persie but the Dutchman could only stab his finish wide from point blank range.
From there, the first half petered out. Arsenal struggled to find fluency in midfield, with Ramsey guilty of coughing up possession on more than one occasion, while the Chelsea front three of Kalou, Torres and Daniel Sturridge could not conjure up anything in the final third that worked Wojciech Szczesny.
Petr Cech remained similarly untroubled until the Gunners carved out a flurry of opportunities as the half drew to a close. Koscielny was entirely unmarked when he headed a Van Persie free-kick against the crossbar before the Dutchman controlled Alex Song's excellent pass to force Cech into a good block inside the penalty area.
That brief respite in an otherwise tepid affair was not, unfortunately, a sign of things to come in the second half. The first 15 minutes comprised of a collection of incomplete crosses, mistimed through balls and, in defence of the two sides, reasonably solid defending.
Walcott was hauled off just after the hour mark after pulling up with a hamstring injury that was handled in a way that will not have pleased Stuart Pearce, England's interim manager, who was in attendance.
The forward attempted to play on after appearing to suffer a tweak to the muscle and only seemed to risk aggravating the problem before he again went down in pain and was substituted minutes later.
Gary Cahill appeared to lean on Van Persie when challenging for a high ball in the penalty area but referee Dean remained unmoved despite the striker's protests, while despite substitute Juan Mata's best efforts, he could not instigate much of an improvement in Chelsea's invention levels in the Arsenal half.
Van Persie began to find more space as play became more stretched in midfield but could not take advantage, wriggling away from a couple of Blues defenders and a stranded Cech in the box only to see his shot blocked by the keeper.
Koscielny had to be alert to slide in and prevent Sturridge from shooting from close range at the other end as the moment of decisive quality needed to give either side the edge did not come.

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British criminals of the last century

Apparently, given the tiny town, the crimes were limited, most often, and stealing. Although there were exceptions. All visitors can test their intuition and to determine for each offense shown on the photo:) Let's start with women.

Here is the thief of all colors and sizes.













Alfred Wilkinson, Sylvester Herlbert Irala and Mustafa accused of perjury.





Now turn to the thieves.










Stands out from all the James Dawson. He was an exhibitionist and he was repeatedly arrested for indecent exposure in public places.


Photo by Flickr

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