Back to normal now, having had a skive, sorry, been privileged to have Flint, Frank and VivB take the floor for a week and the silly season has come crashing and thundering in like a storm from the East.

First up, Arsene Wenger is apparently so upset with the David Dein ’saga’ that he is doing a Mourinho, making like an invisible man and taking his favourite pet with him. The pet in question is Thierry Henry who is really upset. So much so that he is off to Barcelona for £20m. There is one small point to bear in mind with all of this and that the source of this revelation is The Daily Mirror and The Express, papers so unreliable that if you used it to wipe your Arsenal, it would disintegrate and leave you with a hand covered in the same sort of stuff that this story is made of. Another clue was the slurred type and the ‘hic!’ at the bottom. Or that the quotes used are extremely similar to those which surfaced when DD was sacked. Hmmm, I wonder if they could be related?

Freddie Ljungberg is apparently going to the knackers yard on the South Coast that is otherwise known as Portsmouth although he won’t be joining his old chum Sol Campbell because he’s taking himself off to Newcastle to join Fat Sam’s revolution up there. Squaring the circle will be Charles N’Zogbia who is going to be trekking to The Emirates apparently. No I don’t believe any of it either and nor does Freddie’s Mr 15% who says that ‘Freddie’s Not Dead’. No sorry, that’s Curtis Mayfield. Freddie’s Mr 15% said that the Swede isn’t going anywhere. N’Zogbia is just one of, deep breath, twenty three players who we have been linked with which is a fairly phenomenal amount, especially for a club that has apparently got no money. Yet the papers want to build us up, The Times this morning noting that Arsene’s War Chest is made up of the £40m loan facility already in place. Keith Edelman meanwhile ‘reassured supporters’ that Arsene had significant transfer funds available. Frankly, I’m not bothered by how much more by how he uses it. His track record with ‘big signings’ is somewhat patchy so I’ll settle for his usual known but able to moulded style of buying.

Back to Thierry Henry who reckons we’re not far off challenging for the title if everyone stays fit. Personally, it seems he’s a bit behind the times as that is what everyone else has been saying for weeks. However, I’m beyond words now, I want action. In the words of Jean-Luc Picard, Make it so.

Finally, I’d just like to thank Arsene and the Boys for cocking up my birthday. I had an idea forming in my head of the day; up for a fry-up, a few beers and watching Arsenal win the first FA Cup at Wembley. But I’m not bitter and twisted about it at all. Much. Bastards.

’til Tomorrow.