Arsene’s first major press conference brought forth a slew of opinions ahead of The Emirates Cup this weekend, unsurprisingly forthright on squads and Cesc’s future. The friendlies mean that the season edges ever closer and Wenger admitted that he already had a strong idea of what the starting line-up will be at Anfield in a fortnight’s time. This weekend and perhaps more importantly the trip to Poland, will give us an indication of what that will be.

Personally, the only thing that excites me about pre-season friendlies and a thumping win should be greeted with the same scepticism as a defeat. Neither indicates anything more than a performance on the day. The key things to emerge out this weekend will be fitness and understandings. Some players have things to prove to themselves, the manager and us, the goalkeepers for example will want clean sheets and solid performances to enhance their case for inclusion as the first choice. Centre back pairings will want understandings to develop to bring confidence into the Premier League fixtures.

Once more though the focus turned to the squad and its potential for the coming season. Wenger had earlier in the week shown his belief and re-iterated that yesterday. He spoke of the cyclical nature of developing the squad and was at pains to remind everyone that this is the beginning of the squad, previous seasons being the evolution. There are those who would tell him quite the opposite, that this is the last chance saloon for many of the squad if silverware is not delivered.

And to some extent that is true although not in the wholesale numbers that those who desire immediate change want. With financial advantages, some clubs could quite contentedly stockpile players. The number of those who are deemed surplus to requirements is well-documented in the press, albeit erroneously in some cases. To force clubs to develop ‘home grown’ players is not as disadvantageous as Wenger would like to suggest, for Arsenal anyway. That is a process which the club has been engaged in for a number of years. Indeed, Arsenal are the template for others to follow.

It is a process which is alien to English football at the highest level since the inception of the Premier League and perhaps since the late 1970s / early 1980s. Looking back over the list of Champions, perhaps George Graham’s title winning side of 1989 was the last to have followed that route, mixing one or two major signings with a group of players who have been brought through the ranks or purchased young from lower divisions. A sign of the economic progression in football we are told yet the reason for the continued decline of the national team.

The new squad system is not likely to improve that in Wenger’s opinion. I would disagree; twenty-five players is an ideal number for the Premier League. It does give opportunity for younger players outside of that core figure and Wenger is in a prime position to exploit that. He will not want to tread the path of doing this en masse but has the flexibility he needs for occasional dips into the Reserve squad.

The key losers will be clubs lower down the leagues. Arsenal will be more reluctant to allow players who have been identified as having first team potential to leave for loan spells so readily. Some, like Randall for example, appear to have failed to capitalise on earlier progress and departures on loan will be a prelude to a sale. Others, such as Wilshere, are more likely to be kept at Arsenal and developed internally.

Ideally, there would be at least one more addition to the squad. Four centre backs is a risk, especially since Djourou is susceptible to niggling injuries at the moment following his year long enforced absence. Tweaks and strains are prime threats in players at this stage of their return as we have seen with Eduardo and Rosicky. One more, experienced, headcount would be the solution. This would allow Koscielny the time to adjust to the English game and younger players to become accustomed to the change in demands for the game at the highest level.

On Cesc’s situation, Mathieu Flamini gave his two-pennethworth, impressively contradicting himself in the same sentence:

I would tell him to do what he feels, because it’s a very personal choice and I cannot advise anything.

Which is exactly what he did.

Contrary to The Guardian‘s assertion, the situations are entirely dissimilar, Flamini electing to rundown his contract and exercise his right to talk with other clubs. Cesc does not have that luxury and the distinct impression is that a formal transfer request would be rejected out of hand. Quite rightly so, not just for the player’s importance to the squad at this moment in time but also as a signal that being rewarded handsomely twelve months ago with a contract extension and bonuses brings obligations which should be honoured.

As expected the Catalan media is outraged, reduced to weak-willed moralising over the ‘stealing’ of Cesc as a teenager which gives them right to steal him back for a reduced fee. Wenger has forgiven the youthful exuberance of Pique following the Barcelona shirt incident, something that is easy to do when a multitude of squad members have made complete fools of themselves by speaking so openly about how Cesc will be joining them this summer. As expected, the current regime has blamed the former regime who have sought to deflect attention away from themselves by suggesting that Wenger should bear the brunt of Catalan ire rather than throwing ‘shit‘ at each other.

Arsenal strongly and continually asserted rejections of the overtures has been a welcome reversal of stance from English clubs. Aside from Chelsea, all have lost prime assets to the Spanish duo and to see them fumbling around like teenagers on a first date – knowing the objective but lost in the dark along the way – has been refreshing indeed.

Equally, ensuring that players know contracts must be honoured may suggest that the tide is turning more towards equilibrium in the balance of power between player and owners. That is only good for football. The true test however comes next summer. Whether the same outcome occurs is to be seen. In the meantime there is a season of football to enjoy.

Enjoy the match wherever you are watching it. ’til Tomorrow.

Arsene spoke yesterday of his belief that the squad will compete for the title in the coming season, in spite of the massive investment once more by Manchester City. Whilst their spending is a relief for the transfer-based media at this time of the year, consistently signing significant numbers of players makes it hard for them to build a cohesive team, understandings taking time to be built. They should not be dismissed as challengers on that basis because football is a strange beast at times and perhaps Mancini has been astute in his purchases.

Wenger gave no indication of any imminent activity although rumours abound that Mertesacker or Tasci will be joining Arsenal within the next week, depending on which source you choose to believe. The manager observed that the coming campaign will be difficult but was upbeat in his assessment of the squad’s chances:

I am very confident [we'll do better than last season]. We know in England that the Premier League is the biggest league in the world and everybody invests a lot of money. We invest in our work, in our beliefs, in the quality of our behaviour and I am confident that will pay off.

We finished third last year and we hope we can improve on that. But the race will be tough.

It is standard fayre from Arsene; his belief in his players publicly is unstinting, rarely criticising any deficiencies, real or perceived. The hard work which the players put in brings about improvements in their own abilities and with another season of experience behind them – good and bad – the collective must surely benefit.

Wiser heads in match situations is crucial, choosing the correct defensive clearance to picking the right pass through to shooting options. Confidence is key to using this knowledge effectively. A good start to a match or the season will build momentum for the squad, building solid foundations upon which to mount a title challenge.

Whilst the squad could do with strengthening, there is an air of negativity surrounding them. Although this has been based on last season, some of it is entrenched, irrational hatred of a player such as Denilson, for example, is baffling. His performances suffered through injury to himself and others; he is however chastised more severely for his mistakes than others, more experienced players in some cases, make. Some rely on statistics to prove their case, others rely on their jaundiced sight to decry ability.

Time for the first kick-off in anger is approaching and there is the hope of strengthening still to come. I think that is needed, particularly at centre back where the depth is not as many as it could be. If Arsene is to make one more signing, it would be there; a good, solid partnership in the middle breeds confidence throughout the side and helps to minimise the number of chances presented to the opposition. Goalkeepers everywhere have their flaws but put a wall in front of them and they are not so exposed.

Cesc-mania came to the fore yesterday with comments attributed to a Spanish magazine interview. The publication in question is for a chain of fitness clubs in Catalunya and has carried interviews with sports personalities so should not be cast aside. Yet there is no indication when the interview took place and the context in which the words were spoken. We all know that leading questions are asked and I am perplexed as to why the words of the captain are being jumped on so intensely. They, after all, contained nothing new; his love of Barcelona as a city and club is well-documented.

A significant contributing factor is his silence, a situation which will last a day or two more. The Emirates Cup this weekend is in all likelihood going to be the first opportunity for the English-based media to get him in front of a microphone and to ask for his views on his future. It should be expected that he will stonewall such an interrogation, it would be unlikely that he would state his position of wanting a move unless he has formally requested one. That would be common knowledge beforehand with Arsenal wanting to try to control such an event through press releases and interviews.

Business as usual as the injury scaremongering has started to get into full swing. The kickstart it required came in the form of the usual suspects in Austria; Tomas Rosicky and Johan Djourou. The former didn’t even make it onto the pitch despite being named in the starting line-up. There was apparently a ‘small alert’ – Arsene comes up with some wonderfully understated expressions at times – over the Czech international and a meaningless friendly was not the occasion to risk him.

Djourou made it onto the pitch and then had to be helped from it, a small hamstring problem which Arsene believed would be solved by the weekend. Even so, perhaps Saturday would be too soon for him, may be even Sunday is, and there is a chance to see him in action in Poland before the Premier League season begins. Is a pre-season friendly worth taking the risk for one of the players who has suffered cruelly with injuries in recent seasons.

The upcoming Emirates Cup fixtures require rotation of the squad and Wenger would hope to have all fit for at least part of the two matches. Not going to happen with Bendtner, Denilson and Diaby. The latter pair are expected to be fit for the trip to Poland a week on Saturday but the Dane will miss the start of the season.

In itself that is the least surprising news of the week so far. Bendtner carried the injury into the World Cup and said on several occasions that it was troubling him. A rest would have been far better than playing in matches in quick succession. However, there is, at the moment back up to cover for his absence.

Looking back on previous close seasons, Wenger will be relieved that the squad system was not in operation. Long term injuries to players in those summers would have left him light under the new regulations, perhaps even tempting into the transfer market at that time. This summer has been relatively kind in that respect but there is still more than a fortnight to go, along with a round of absolutely pointless international friendlies. Fifa has long been driving the clubs towards reducing the number of games that players are involved with, only for them to be replaced by international weeks, exacerbating the problems.

The return of Cesc and van Persie to training next week is problematic for Wenger. The manager observed that their participation at Anfield is in doubt and depends upon how much fitness the pair has lost during their holidays. I cannot believe that it will have been so much that they are unable to take the field at kick-0ff. They were, after all, training up until three weeks ago; surely they cannot have been drinking twenty pints a day whilst they were away?

A lot of ‘noise’ is how Arsene described the chatter surrounding the reported interest of Barcelona in Cesc. A lot of noise is the expectation with the self-imposed deadline of the Catalans upon us tomorrow. A lot of noise is what we are getting. The big meeting – at least it is in the Spanish media’s eyes – between Wenger and Cesc takes place this week where they are pressurising the midfielder to hand in a verbal transfer request.

The forcefulness of Wenger’s dismissal of Barcelona makes it difficult to envisage any voluntary change of position by Arsenal so the hopes of avoiding egg on their faces is reliant upon Cesc formally asking for a move. Even then, that is only a tiny portion of the chain reaction; Barcelona has to come up with a fee which is acceptable to Arsenal and the longer that this drags on, the less likely either of those actions appears to be.

Attempts by media parties to suggest that there will be a negative reaction to the player when he encounters supporters are pathetic. There will not be any gauntlet to be run; I have yet to meet anyone who does not want Cesc to stay. Some element of the relationship may have been damaged by his silence – or failure to speak on the matter, toning down the chatter of international colleagues – but as long as he is seen to be giving his all for Arsenal, there can be no complaints about him wearing the shirt, nor being captain next season.

’til Tomorrow.

The Austrian Training Camp ended yesterday with a comfortable stroll against SC Neusiedl, the 4 – 0 victory means that the three pre-season friendlies so far have yielded eleven goals scored and none conceded which from the playing side is just about as good as Arsene would have wanted as training restarted a couple of weeks ago. Avoidance of injury would have been another key target, one that may yet be achieved although under severe pressure with Johan Djourou being withdrawn, the extent of his ailment as of yet unknown.

It brought to the fore once more, that the concerns that have arisen over the strength in depth over the core defenders and it seems, this is an area being addressed. Ivan Gazidis has reportedly been in Germany this week on ‘player business’, the hope is that this is bringing someone in, not being Guest of Honour at the grand opening of Jens Lehmann’s Bratwurst Emporium – good for all of your sausage needs, open 7am – 11am everday.

The favoured target this morning is Per Mertesacker whose fee is suggested as being £10m, roughly the same as the total fee payable with bonuses for Koscielny. The German is highly rated and was consistent in South Africa, a tournament which has proven to be one where judgements made on players were hard to make accurately as the great and the good failed to deliver consistently. If that fails, The Daily Telegraph is insistent that Phil Jagielka is the real target and that Arsenal are going back to Everton with an improved bid.

Irrespective of the seriousness of Djourou’s injury, this and Sol Campbell‘s apparent decision to go elsewhere, highlighted the lack of experienced depth centrally. Lessons from last season have to be learned and surely have for the manager may be stubborn – all successful football managers are – but he is definitely not stupid. When pushed yesterday over Mertesacker, Wenger did not deny his interest but that means nothing in isolation.

If Wenger is to make one more signing this summer, it has to be a central defender. An experienced player in this position should, in theory, mean greater organisation and protection for the goalkeepers. Whilst that does not eradicate the silly mistakes made by the individuals, it lessens the opportunities for situations where those mistakes can arise.

Manuel Almunia has been strongly linked with a move away although this and the Schwarzer rumour have been denied in some quarters. Until something happens in either case, the suggestion has been to ignore them. The apparent desire of Federico Marchetti to move on has led to the Caligiari chairman publicly declaring that Arsenal are the only club to make a serious enquiry about the Italian international.

Whether or not this is true remains to be seen, especially as the player was recently angling for a move to Sampdoria, less than thrilled that his employers demanded too much money as a transfer fee, apparently killing a deal which may show Lazarian proportions and be sealed this weekend.

Almunia started yesterday, his first pre-season outing, and was given a public show of support by Wenger who made him Captain for the time he was on the pitch. You might say that there is no significance in that – and the manager has made it clear in recent seasons that he does not place as much store by the role as others – but he will have been well aware of the PR implications for the goalkeeper,  a positive angle for his re-appearance, rather than a subdued forty-five minutes. Even then, Vito Mannone managed to upstage the Spaniard by saving a second-half penalty.

Gael Clichy has spoken of his hopes for the season. The French defender has followed the lead of others in the squad and whilst the on the pitch play has yet to reveal the more aggressive approach, the words of Vermaelen and others have certainly been more assertive in their desire. Clichy added introspection:

I remember a few years ago saying it was a time for Arsenal to win and still nothing happened. I really hope this year can be a good one and now we cannot hide behind anything – the age or the experience. We have everything to do it so let’s do it.

It is always at the end of season that we are not that far behind and Arsenal had a good season but we didn’t win anything. We have to ask ourselves the right questions; do we want to be a good team or to win trophies? To win trophies we have to be the best and that is what we are trying to do from now on. We want to show the fans that we believe in ourselves.

At the start of every campaign, hopes are high. Last season got to the business end before they were dashed, a change from several seasons before. Yet the outcome remained the same. The progress made has been submerged under the reciminations over another trophyless season, injuries brushed aside as prejudices against certain players surface with vengeance.

This is supposed to be a time of hope and the frustrations of a lack of signings fail to take into account the impact of the World Cup. Prior to the national teams meeting up, there was little time to get signatures in place and selling clubs were in no hurry either, hopeful that fees would generally increase. I suspect as well that there was an element of clubs waiting to see if Arsenal sold Fabregas, the fee received would be public knowledge and the chance to inflate prices to Manchester City proportions is too good an opportunity to miss.

We don’t know the work that has been going on behind the scenes. Arsenal fail to leak information regularly to the media which gives power to the notion of people twiddling their thumbs, waiting for phones to ring. These claims are hard to refute because of the lack of activity, even though we know them to be vacuous. Even so, the optimum time to sign is upon us and hopefully this will bear some fruit.

’til Tomorrow.

The final match of the training camp in Austria takes place today in which indications of Wenger’s preferred XI will take shape. The absence of Cesc and RvP will mean that the starting line-ups will not be the ‘real deal’ but certainly the defensive side of the team needs to build understandings over the remaining friendlies to be in shape for the coming season.

The defensive choices need some stability for confidence to build and for them to get used to the goalkeeper whom Wenger eventually decides to start with. I suspect that the choice has already been made and a turbulent summer may well end with the status quo being restored and Almunia remaining first choice. The scenario is not dissimilar to that which saw Almunia take the gloves off Jens Lehmann. Question marks over the apparent first choice with as many about the heir apparent. Little wonder that Wenger is persistently linked with any goalkeeper that moves.

Whichever one Wenger chooses, the defence in front of him needs more co-ordination. Thomas Vermaelen may have viewed himself as the junior partner last season but now he will have to be more vocal in organising the back four, guiding whichever centre back he plays alongside into forming a tight unit. If the back four offers more protection to the goalkeeper the number of mistakes ought to reduce, unless of course they are part of the goalkeeper’s nature.

There is still plenty of time for Wenger to make additions to the squad before the window closes but those will be limited in number – one, possibly two incoming but certainly no more than that. Any number of players are linked with the club and it seems that making direct comments in the media is now in vogue with professionals. Hot on the heels of Igor Akinfeev’s desire to leave Moscow for London comes Jan Vertonghen telling the world how he would like to partner Thomas Vermaelen in the centre of the Arsenal defence even though they never performed those duties at Ajax due to them both being left-footed. And I doubt that either will arrive.

Mark Schwarzer stories won’t go away with Manuel Almunia going to Osasuna for £1m as Wenger looks to create the space in the squad although he will be taking a massive dip in wages to do so. That means the Australian can be the next goalkeeper to be pillioried for inconsistency at The Emirates. Quite possibly, he won’t join as this one has been dragging on for so long which would entitle him to a round of, “You’ll never play for Arsenal“.

The media cannot make up their minds about the fee involved, reports suggest that £1m was offered to Fulham as opposed to the £2m previously doing the rounds although the final fee remains consistent at £4m. The inconsistency of that pales by comparison to the Cesc saga with El Mundo Deportivo telling the world that the deal will be done by the end of the week for €45m, Arsenal and Barcelona apparently in secret – and for once discreet – negotiations. No, they are not according to Sport with Arsenal refusing to speak to the Catalans, the dodo showing more signs of life than this transfer in their view. Let’s hope that our resident scientific, political and economics advisor, Dr Xavi, can shed some more light on this one.

Away from Arsenal and ssssshhhhhhh, don’t mention it too loudly but the Golden Generation might well find themselves usurped in the senior squad rather more quickly than they thought. Hot on the heels on the Under-17s European Championship win, the Under-19s are in the semi-finals against Spain this afternoon. Fabio Capello would take note of their progress in person but apparently cannot be arsed to go and watch them. His stock just keeps falling and unlike BP shares, shows no sign of a temporary reprieve.

One of the key players has emerged as Tom Cruise, who has been receiving some praise for his performances. The desire to dismiss Cesc’s World Cup Winners medal as insignificant compared to an England team winning a tournament at whatever level, is inspiration for him in today’s  match:

I’d love to show my winners’ medal to the lads at Arsenal, especially Cesc. I know he’d take it well and there’d be a bit of banter flying about.

The match is, I believe, on Eurosport. Best of luck to him and the rest of the squad in the pre-match entertainment ahead of Arsenal’s key clash this evening.

’til Tomorrow.

An apparently decisive week where Cesc will meet with Arsene over his future, ask for a move and facilitate the lowering of any transfer fee to €40m (plus €5m in add-ons), or else. Barcelona’s mouthpieces in the media are trying to threaten Arsenal into submission as Rosell’s deadline of their Asian tour – why couldn’t they have left this morning to give us all some peace and quiet?

Apparently, the Spanish media believe Arsenal needs the money for liquidity purposes as the Catalan board tries to paper over the cracks of its own financial incompetence by telling their gullible followers that all of the big clubs are in the same boat. The answer is: No, we’re not.

The final match of the Austrian Training Camp is tomorrow and the central defensive issue will not go away. The chorus of concern about Koscielny has grown with observations about his physique, the lack of experience, aired to the detriment of the player. We have not seen him in action meaningfully on a regular basis and he represents a step into the unknown, a leap of faith that not so long ago everyone would willingly have taken but now seem reluctant to do so en masse.

Koscielny is positive about himself but then so was Senderos and we saw how quickly – and sadly – that confidence seeped away, principally at the hands of Didier Drogba but on other occasions too, bearing the brunt of anger over defeats that were not necessarily down to his individual failings.

The Franco-Pole told Arsenal.com that he liked “physical challenges and I’m a player that can anticipate situations. I feel that I read the game well and one of my strengths is challenging for the ball in the air.”  There is a misconception that English football is the only league where the ball leaves the ground. Yet that is not the case.

Arguably, it is the most physically demanding national league where the diversity of playing styles has been found wanting at a higher level but requiring a certain robustness of players. His lack of experience suggests that he is a squad player yet perhaps this is to easily dismissive. Wenger has a history of finding gems – as well as duds such as Stepanovs – and the apparent lack of physicality could be compensated for with an outstanding ability to read the game. Until he is seen in action in a competitive match, assertive judgements should be withheld.

Johan Djourou is seen as the principle beneficiary of the absence of new signings. I would suggest that he is Gallas’ heir apparent. The question mark over the Swiss international is his absence for a year through injury. Yet that injury was not as a result of a malevolent challenge such as Taylor’s on Eduardo nor has there been any indication thus far of any recurrences like those suffered by Rosicky. Yet these are the two benchmarks by which Djourou is judged.

None of that should mask the fact that numbers are light in the centre of defence. Quite a few names circulate and I find it inconceivable that Wenger has not had all of them scouted; whether he wants to sign them only he knows. There is an obvious gap to be filled following Gallas’ departure, Wenger has no doubt identified whether or not there is an internal candidate or fresh blood is needed.

The manager has added to the uncertainty, albeit in an unintentional way. Having publicly stated that there is no clear Number One at the club, trying to motivate those already at the club but feeding the fears of supporters about other positions as well. Will he move to seal any transfer dealings this week? Certainly it is his best opportunity to do so with internationals reporting for duty in the immediate aftermath of the friendly in Poland.

Playing their cards close to their chest works for Arsenal for the most part. Sometimes it is detrimental in the short term as speculation plays into the hands of those with differing agendas. The coming fortnight will be a solid indicator of whether any fresh faces are to arrive.

’til Tomorrow.

The World Cup fallout continued with Laurent Blanc suspending the entire French squad for one match – a meaningless gesture since the fixture in question was a meaningless friendly against Norway – which helps Arsene to a degree as he knows that three of his players are not in danger of being crocked before the visit to Liverpool. Were there to be rests given to a few others then the week before Anfield might not be as pointless as it was originally conceived.

Johan Djourou has decided that aggression is the answer and is looking forward to being the ‘daddy’ of the team. Quickly hiding the pool ball in the football sock behind his back:

I thought that we were looking quite solid. But it is true that 41 goals is too much when you are playing for the top places. I think sometimes we are missing a bit of aggression. It is not that we are not good enough, because the team is good enough. We have top players at the back, top players all over the pitch. It is just that we have to be stronger as a unit.

As much as finding a new centre back is a priority for Wenger – William Gallas seems set for Celtic now – it the cohesion between the back four and midfield that needs resolving as well. Whilst the back four held a good line in the early part of the season, injuries began to impact upon that and at times, the straight line was more twisted than a corkscrew towards April and May.

I am not suggesting that Wenger adopt the extreme measures of George Graham by tieing everyone together with a rope but there is scope for a leader in the back four. This season, I think it will be Vermaelen who deferred to Gallas and Campbell to a certain extent last year. He did not need to for he adapted quickly to the English game; now he can assert himself irrespective of his defensive partner.

Djourou is almost back at square one, twelve months on from his injury:

Now it is time to step up and start. I will always say that but now I am mature enough. We will have to see with the injury because when you have it for so long it is difficult to come straight back into things. But I played 90 minutes against Strum Graz and it went well. I have to get other games under my belt and hopefully I will be ready.

How quickly that chance will arise depends on the transfer market activity undertaken by his manager. If a new centre back does not arrive before the start of the season, Djourou would probably be in the Pole position to partner Vermaelen, physically more ready for the English game than Koscielny appears to be. Concerns have been raised about his build but there were criticisms of Vermaelen’s height which proved to be wide of the mark.

English football is obsessed with a neanderthal being at the heart of the defence yet height is no guarantee of being good in the air, see Peter Crouch’s career for proof of that. It seems that Wenger though is after a little more experience than can currently be offered, Everton apparently willing to discuss terms over Phil Jagielka or not, depending on which news outlet you read / believe.

The goalkeeping conundrum is full of near misses at the moment. David James will not be the experienced gap-filler that Mark Schwarzer appears to be and Igor Akinfeev wants to move to Arsenal or Manchester United. Or quite possibly anywhere should a suitable offer be received by his current employers although he prefers London as an abode as it is in his DNA. Maarten Stekelenberg at £4m represents a better deal than Schwarzer at the same price but is hard to conceive that Ajax would put such a low value on their goalkeeper, especially after a decent World Cup by the goalkeeping standards on show in South Africa. Further up the pitch, The Sunday Times reports that Mesut Ozil is available for £10m and wants to come to Arsenal or Manchester United as Barcelona and Real Madrid are doing their shopping elsewhere…

Backhanded confirmation that Cesc is staying emerged from Barcelona – or tacit acknowledgment that the Catalans won’t be able to muster the funds to buy him – in the form of Iniesta’s comments:

He is a special player and I hope he wins the title at Arsenal this season. For them to win Cesc will have to stay fit and injury-free but he deserves to finish with a title.

Apparently the Arsenal supporters are close to his heart which seems to be more important than any make-up of his DNA. However, Cesc is going to have a very short conversation with Wenger this week in London – shame the manager will be in Austria for a lot of it – about a move to Barcelona. I doubt Wenger will be too chuffed with the notion of his star player doing a daily commute of a couple of thousand miles but if it keeps him happy…

’til Tomorrow.