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Arsenal striker Robin van Persie does not believe William Gallas was referring to him in his recent criticism of the side.
Gallas' outburst last month saw him relieved of his duty as Gunners captain, while he singled out a player 'six years younger' than him.
It was suggested that 25-year-old Van Persie was the team-mate in question but the Dutchman insists there is no problem between the duo.
"Are you suggesting that William was talking about me?" Van Persie said.
"I don't know that, because he never told me anything and I didn't see my name in the papers, so I never felt that he was speaking about me. For me, there isn't a problem."
Adebayor
Meanwhile, striker Emmanuel Adebayor has admitted the team must address their inconsistency against the so-called smaller sides.
The Gunners have endured a mixed season, with wins over Manchester United and Chelsea, but losses against the likes of Stoke City and Hull City.
Adebayor said in The Times: "Sometimes maybe you have a little bit more concentration against a big team, that's one of the things that we're going to work on very hard.
Consistency
"Those are the things we're going to discuss a little bit in the dressing-room in the days ahead and see what we can do now against the lower teams.
"One or two days were not very good, but everyone can see that we keep the title dreams alive and the most important thing is to keep going.
"I think even if we had lost (to Chelsea), we would never say the title race is finished for us. We want to keep going to the end of the season. We know we have a good team, a good squad and everyone is ready for it."
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Cesc Fabregas has been backed to be a success as Arsenal skipper by north London rival David Bentley.
Spurs midfielder Bentley believes the Spaniard will prove a fine leader even though he is not as vocal as former Arsenal captains Tony Adams and Patrick Vieira.
After seeing Fabregas inspire the Gunners to a 2-1 victory at Chelsea this weekend - a win which has re-ignited their title hopes - Bentley told Zoo magazine: "He is not exactly in the old-school English mould of a captain, but I reckon he's a top choice all the same.
"When appointing Cesc, Arsene Wenger said he didn't believe in captains who screamed and waved their hands in the air; he said he believed more in a player who can dictate the play with clever passes and lead by example.
"That might sound odd from a manager who has had incredible success with chest-beaters such as Tony Adams and Patrick Viera - but I think that he's right.
Screamers
He added: "Those guys were vocal, sure, but they also had such an aura about them that you felt like you'd follow them through a brick wall if they asked you to."
However, Bentley believes the days of a team captain being the one to below orders to his team-mates have gone.
He said: "The modern game doesn't need screamers and guys who clench their fists - it needs quality men who get on with doing the right things, on and off the pitch.
"I suspect Fabregas can do this and become a long-term, successful skipper at The Emirates."
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bad news..
Clarets turf out Gunners
Burnley's giant-killing spree in the Carling Cup continued after a 2-0 win over Arsenal's rookies in the quarter-final at Turf Moor.
Kevin McDonald struck in each half as Owen Coyle's men followed up victories over Fulham and Chelsea with a richly-deserved success over the Gunners.
The Championship side took the lead after just six minutes when McDonald slotted into the net after Arsenal keeper Lukasz Fabianski had failed to collect Chris Eagles' low cross.
Gunners striker Nicklas Bendtner was denied by Brian Jensen either side of McDonald's opener, and the Burnley keeper also made a smart save to thwart Carlos Vela.
Fran Merida came close to a brilliant solo goal early in the second half before McDonald, who scored his first goal for Burnley at the weekend, grabbed his second of the night on 57 minutes.
He anticipated Eagles' quick throw-in and, after getting the better of Mark Randall, flicked a nonchalant finish past Fabianski and inside the far post.
Though Jensen kept his side in it on occasions, Burnley's football was more than a match for a fledgling Arsenal side that had ripped apart Sheffield United and Wigan in previous rounds.
Capital Punishment III
The match was locally billed as 'Capital Punishment III' after Chelsea and Fulham were put to the sword in previous rounds - and it lived up to expectations.
Yet Arsenal almost took the lead before McDonald made the breakthrough when Merida released Bendtner, however Jensen stayed alert and diverted the striker's effort to safety.
Burnley took the lead in the sixth minute after Chris Eagles swung in a superb cross from the right and Arsenal could not clear their lines after Fabianski failed to gather the ball.
McDonald took full advantage to score from the edge of the six-yard box to put the the second-tier side in the driving seat - and they never looked back.
Arsenal were stung and Bendtner sprung the offside trap in the ninth minute after a good through-ball from Vela but Jensen was equal to his effort.
Then Martin Paterson skipped away from Kieran Gibbs but his shot carried little power and the goalkeeper was able to make a comfortable save.
Burnley were dictating the pace against their inexperienced opponents and Robbie Blake tested Fabianski in the 28th minute.
The young Arsenal goalkeeper looked nervous and spilled his effort, only to recover in time and take the ball off Paterson's toes.
Paterson should have extended Burnley's lead when he stole in on the blindside but only succeeded in rattling a shot against Fabianski's body.
Arsenal responded in the 37th minute and Bendtner sent Randall clear with a clever flick. Randall had only Jensen to beat but the goalkeeper stood tall to make the block.
The goalkeeper was again proving difficult to beat after an impressive display in the victory against Chelsea.
It looked as though Vela would equalise in the 41st minute but Jensen cleared the danger.
Merida came close after 49 minutes when he weaved his way into the penalty area but failed to test Jensen, curling his effort just wide.
Burnley extended their lead in the 57th minute with McDonald again showing a cool head when needed.
Randall was caught napping when Eagles delivered a throw-in and McDonald raced clear before curling a delightful shot into the far corner with the outside of his right boot.
Uphill task
This was an uphill task now for Arsenal and Wenger responded by bringing on Jay Simpson for Jack Wilshere in a bid to turn things around.
Simpson had shown his potential in the last round with a brace in the victory against Wigan.
However, Paterson should have made it 3-0 in the 65th minute only to send a soft header into Fabianski's arms following a cross from Blake.
Burnley were happy to knock the ball around and keep possession but Arsenal still looked dangerous going forward.
Bendtner should have pulled a goal back with three minutes remaining but the striker failed to capitalise on a good ball from Vela to put the seal on a miserable night for the Gunners.
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Robin accepts goal was offside
Arsenal striker Robin van Persie has conceded he was 'a little bit offside' for his equaliser at Chelsea on Sunday.
The Dutchman strayed into an offside position before scoring the first of two goals in a vital turnaround against the Blues.
Chelsea boss Luiz Felipe Scolari has hit out at the misjudgement by the linesman and called for referee Mike Dean to apologise.
Van Persie, though, has pointed to a clash between the two London clubs when he had a seemingly onside goal ruled out.
Disallowed
He said in the Evening Standard: "I scored a goal against Chelsea (in a 2-0 home defeat in December 2005). I was onside, but the ref gave it offside and it didn't count.
"This time was maybe a little bit offside, but it counted and that's all that matters."
Meanwhile, Van Persie's strike partner, Emmanuel Adebayor, has hailed the importance of the scalp that hauled them to within seven points of the leaders.
The Togo forward said: "It is a very big win because we went through a lot of difficult moments and people wrote us off in the Premier League. Now this is a message that we have sent out.
Dreams
"We believe in ourselves, we can do something. Forget about what happened - we are always together. We always believed we can do something and these are the kind of results we can show again.
"Now everyone can see we have kept our title dreams alive and the more important thing now is to keep going."
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