Stuart Pearce named his 18 man squad for the London 2012 Olympics yesterday; a squad that included young Arsenal midfielder Aaron Ramsey amongst the likes of fellow Welshman Ryan Giggs and Micah Richards.

There was no place in the squad for Kieran Gibbs even though he was heavily tipped to be included. I don’t think Gibbs will be losing much sleep over his omission anyway.

The experience will be good for Aaron Ramsey, he had a tough season at Arsenal and the potential for a good tournament would do wonders for his confidence. The opportunity to learn off of Giggs will benefit him a lot and judging by the rest of the squad selections Ramsey has the opportunity to be one of the leading lights in the GB team. I don’t think Ramsey ever played in the same team as Giggs for Wales so this will be a special opportunity for the player.

Ramsey himself said of his squad selection:

“I’m delighted to be a part of it”

“It will be a good experience and a different experience to play in the Olympics, being part of a British team and playing alongside some of the English players too”

He is clearly excited and it’s a pity he didn’t have David Beckham there also to bounce off of. I hope he comes through the experience with his confidence rebuilt and a fresh impetus going into the new season. He has the potential to be as influential as Cesc Fabregas was to the team, he just needs to find his rhythm again and increase his consistency. Good luck Aaron I’ll be cheering you on but not Stuart Pearce.

Joel Campbell looks to be off on loan again for next season as word started to spread of his impending loan deal with La Liga outfit Real Betis. If the move does come to fruition that will be a great move for the young Costa Rican to make. La Liga is of a much higher standard than Ligue 1 and a real push in the right direction for his development. It is not known whether work permit problems are behind this move however given our recent acquisitions up front opportunities would be limited for the young forward next season. Better for him to test himself in Spain, although the Spanish league is dominated by the two giants there is still enough quality in the league to raise Joel’s standard.

In spite of the rumours of bids for our captain Robin Van Persie with wages and fees on the table from Juventus and Man City Peter Hill-Wood has come out publicly to state that there have been no bids for our captain as yet. He has also stated that Robin is not for sale as Arsenal does not want him to leave the club.

Hill –wood said:

“As far as I am aware nobody has made any offer for him and he is away so we are not in any dialogue at all”

He followed that up with:

“We’re not in the remotest bit interested in selling him”

Of course these quotes are based on what Hill-Wood knows, is there a possibility something could be happening behind the scenes unknown n to him? Probably not, though he is known for letting the cat out of the bag too soon on many Arsenal related issues. I know if I knew someone who can’t keep a secret I would wait until the last possible opportunity before I bring them in to anything.

Robin is apparently still on his holidays getting away from all the stresses of the last 11 or so months, I think the silence has made us all assume the worst though there’s still no guarantee he is staying what we need to do is wait until he is back from his holidays and having talks with the Arsenal men before we jump to any conclusions. Let the papers make up what they want but be aware nothing is happening for now so take all reports with a pinch of salt.

Enjoy your day people

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