Blackburn Rovers

Monday’s 1-0 home defeat to Wigan ended Rovers’ 11-year stay in the top flight but Kean is backing himself and his squad to attain promotion next term.

“I’m a big believer in my own ability and the guys I’ve got in the dressing room, each and every one them is devastated but I can’t fault their commitment,” he told reporters. “I’m convinced we can build a side to move us forward again.

“Yeah I do [believe I’ll still be here]. I can’t control [the fans reactions]. We’ve not mentioned what’s happened tonight but I’m confident we’ll have a plan in place to build a squad that will bounce us back immediately.”

The Scot also revealed his disappointment that the Lancashire outfit could not force the relegation battle down to the last game of the season.

He added: “It’s difficult to put into words what the atmosphere is like in the dressing room, I think there was a few things thrown our way that questioned our commitment but tonight I think we gave it a real go.

“We felt we’d done enough to take it to the last game like we did last season.

“It was going to be tough but we felt that could we have won tonight then, obviously we had to go and beat Chelsea but the fact was that we had to win tonight. It was disappointing we couldn’t take it to the last game.”

The 44-year-old went on to bemoan the loss of several key players during the season and targeted a quick return to the Premier League.

“I’ll sit down with the owners and discuss how to assemble a squad that can help us bounce back straight away because certainly we’ve lost a lot of experience over the last six months,” he continued.

“I think we need to try and keep the majority of the squad together to make sure from the first game of next season we’re in a position to get back into the division we should be in.

“We have to build a squad as quickly as possible, the division below is a very tough league to get out of and we need a squad that can be competitive. That’s the first thing I’ll be doing tomorrow morning.”

Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain also scored twice as Arsene Wenger saw his team close to just two points behind fourth-placed Chelsea.

Dutchman Van Persie fired the Gunners ahead inside two minutes, but a fine free-kick from Morten Gamst Pedersen brought Blackburn level.

Arsenal were soon back in front through skipper Van Persie, before Oxlade-Chamberlain extended the lead.

Gael Givet saw red for a two-footed challenge on Van Persie, and there was no way back for Rovers.

Arsenal dominated the second half, as Mikel Arteta and the impressive Oxlade-Chamberlain were both on target with Van Persie collecting the matchball following a neat near-post finish just after the hour.

Substitute Thierry Henry swept home goal number seven in stoppage time to cap a memorable afternoon at Emirates Stadium.

The Gunners, who are up into fifth place, will be hoping for a Manchester United win at Stamford Bridge tomorrow to improve their Champions League prospects for next season.

Today Wenger’s side took just one minute and 19 seconds to move ahead.

Theo Walcott was played into the right side of the penalty area by Francis Coquelin after a cross was only half cleared.

The England winger, frequently maligned for his poor choice of final ball, played a low centre through the six-yard box to Van Persie who tapped in his 121st Arsenal goal to overtake Dennis Bergkamp on the all-time list.

Today’s match had been brought forward to a 1pm start because of disruptions to the London Underground network, and there were plenty of empty seats around Emirates Stadium.

Arsenal, who had not recorded a league win in 2012, continued to press as the visitors, unbeaten in three away games including a shock win at Old Trafford, defended deep with two banks of four.

Paul Robinson turned a curling effort from Czech midfielder Tomas Rosicky around the post.

But after 31 minutes, Laurent Koscielny bundled over Anthony Modeste just outside the Arsenal penalty area.

It proved a costly foul as Gamst Pedersen whipped the resulting free-kick over the wall and into the top-left corner, a shot which Wojciech Szczesny got a hand to but could not keep out.

After the restart, there was a stoppage when Blackburn’s Jason Lowe went over on his ankle in a sliding challenge from Rosicky, and the midfielder was replaced by Bradley Orr to make his debut.

Arsenal were ahead again after 38 minutes, and again it was Walcott who was the provider.

Following patient build-up, Alex Song slipped the England man away down the right again, and he sprinted to cut the ball back from the goalline right into the path of Van Persie, who again made no mistake from a yard out.

Before Rovers could regroup, it was 3-1.

Walcott and Van Persie combined again, this time to release Oxlade-Chamberlain into the Blackburn penalty area, where he skipped around Robinson and slotted home his first Premier League goal five minutes from half-time.

The afternoon got worse for the visitors after 43 minutes when Givet was shown a straight red card by referee Andre Marriner for jumping in with two feet on Van Persie.

Rovers made an immediate tactical change as midfielder David Dunn was replaced by defender Grant Hanley.

The hosts went close again when Thomas Vermaelen crashed the ball against the far post from Arteta’s floated cross.

Arsenal further extended their lead after 51 minutes.

Blackburn only half cleared a corner to the edge of the area, from where Spaniard midfielder Arteta drilled the ball back into the bottom left corner.

Rovers, who had beaten the Gunners 4-3 at Ewood Park in September, were over-run again after 54 minutes when Walcott’s mazy dribble through the penalty area took him past five defenders before slipping in Oxlade-Chamberlain, who turned his marker and rolled the ball past Robinson.

It was now very much a case of damage limitation for the visitors, manager Steve Kean pensively looking on from the dugout.

Van Persie, who twice struck the woodwork in Wednesday night’s frustrating goalless draw at Bolton, completed his hat-trick after 62 minutes when he clipped home a cross from Coquelin at the near post.

Oxlade-Chamberlain was replaced by Henry for the final 23 minutes, which could not finish soon enough for Blackburn.

To round the scoring off, Henry – on loan from New York Red Bulls – swept home number seven in stoppage time, with the aid of a deflection. (Soccernet)

Arsenal

The Frenchman says he is tempted to rotate his squad to avoid players becoming fatigued after matches against Aston Villa and Bolton Wanderers in the past week.

“I will rotate a little bit because many players have given a lot,” he told the club’s official website. “[With Van Persie] the temptation is there.

“We are in a situation at the moment where he is the main goalscorer, so I will maybe have to build a team that works around him.”

Park Chu-Young, Thierry Henry and Theo Walcott are potential candidates to replace Van Persie in attack if Wenger does decide to rest his talisman.

However, despite returning from the Africa Cup of Nations with Morocco, the Arsenal boss has confirmed that Marouane Chamakh will not be involved.

“We have Park [Chu-Young], Thierry Henry, we have Walcott who wants to play through the middle – he has not done it,” he said.

“We have not done it but we always have adapted. Thierry Henry at the start was not a centre forward, Robin van Persie was not a centre forward, so we’ll see what we do if it happens.

“But Chamakh is back. No [he is not ready to play]. He should be in today because they have 48 hours to be back after the competition, but I will not use him tomorrow.”

Arsenal, who lost 4-3 in the reverse fixture against Blackburn earlier this season, currently sit in seventh place in the Premier League, five points behind fourth-placed Chelsea. (Goal)

Sky Sports

The future of Samba at Blackburn in the last six months has received serious attention from his club. Earlier in the transfer market last summer, the big defender is also rumored going to leave.

So far Arsenal and Tottenham Hotspur had shown interest in the 27-year-old player. However, QPR also do not want to lose. They also will try their best to get the defender.

QPR coach Neil Warnock had previously been widely rumored to be looking for a center-back on the transfer market this month. Samba’s name is believed to be the main target.

Blackburn started the game well. Chris Samba got a chance, but his header hits the crossbar, and his goal was disallowed by the referee. The visitors managed to lead in the 17th minute through Peter Crouch. This tall striker doubled the lead before halftime through a counterattack.

Substitute David Goodwillie cuts the gap in the 69th minute. Ten minutes later, Ayegbeni Yakubu almost equalized. However, his shot was blocked by Jonathan Woodgate, and the ball fell into the arms of Thomas Sorensen.

Watch Blackburn Rovers 1-2 Stoke City highlights here:

Aiyegbeni Yakubu‘s goals at the beginning of each half, plus a header from Grant Hanley ten minutes before the game ends helped Blackburn Rovers gave a big surprise at the end of 2011.

Here is the highlight of  Manchester United vs Blackburn Rovers:

Blackburn Rovers

Blackburn’s first away victory also ruins Sir Alex Ferguson‘s 70th birthday part.

“This is a quite remarkable result. Coming here with a young squad and winning it, this will be a stepping stone to continue to achieve maximum results,” said Kean.

Meanwhile, Kean also praised the performance shown by Aiyegbeni Yakubu, who scored two goals against David de Gea in the game.

“Yakubu is in peak performance. Wherever he played throughout his career, if you give him good service, he will become a reliable scorer.”

Blackburn’s performance this season was fairly bad. Although managed to win against Arsenal, they played the rest of the league with three defeats and one draw. As a result, Blackburn are now in 19th position in the Premier League standings.

Although fans continue to pressure the club to sack him, Kean admits he is not worried. The reason is that he still gets support from the club owners.

“The club owners do not panic. They’re strong. They are here for a long term and continue to support me. We can certainly get through all of this,” he said optimistically.

Blackburn Rovers

Jensen is leaving his position after just nine months working as an Kean’s assistant. The club did not mention the reason for Jensen’s departure. However, it is believed that this is because his relationship with the manager is no longer good.

“John Jensen left his position as assistant manager of Blackburn Rovers. The club would like to thank John for his efforts during the last nine months and wish the best for his future,” wrote the club’s official statement, according to the Mirror.

This means that Kean has to find the right replacement to fill the position of Jensen. In fact, the manager must prepare a heavy duty preparing his team to face Manchester City at Ewood on Saturday (1/10).

Blackburn Rovers

The 28-year-old player landed in England with the status of a free transfers. He signed a three year contract after spending time with Brazilian club Gremio Barueri.

Ribeiro has previously spent time on trial at Rovers, following the pre-season from the beginning and going on tour to Austria. He is also a part of the Rovers squad’s victory agains Accrington Stanley 2-1 and also played in the 4-1 win against Kilmarnock.

The three-year was agreed with the option to extend it in every season. Ribeiro is prepared by Steve Kean, Rovers coach, for today’s game at Ewood Park against Wolves.