International Fortnight has finally hit home, the quietness between matches would be deafening were it not for Jens Lehmann telling the German media that he expects to back in the Arsenal XI for the Bolton game. His expectations may be met; if they are, it is a certain sign for Manuel Almunia that he will never be the Number One ‘keeper at Arsenal. If the German is not included, I believe Arsene will not recall him unless Almunia has an absolute stinker in upcoming matches.

The problem that Lehmann has is not his supreme confidence in his own ability nor is it his ability per se, more that he may not entirely have the confidence of his manager. Whilst that would not be difficult to understand given the mistakes made, it does overlook the fact that in the other two hundred and sixty eight minutes he has been on the pitch this season in an Arsenal shirt, he has kept a clean sheet. However, Almunia has his critics and will probably never convince some that he merits a place ahead of the German. The only opinion that counts though is that of Arsene and I am not convinced that he will necessarily accede to the demands of Lehmann, at least for this weekend.

Eduardo is being given plenty of boosts to his confidence by Slavan Bilic, as if scoring goals is not enough. Bilic whilst having a pop at the Russians, said

He is a brilliant player, definitely one of the best strikers in the world. It is early days for him at Arsenal. Wenger always takes time with the new guys. I speak to his assistant Boro Primorac, who is Croatian, every week. I’m sure Eduardo is going to be a great player for Arsenal. They are delighted with him

High praise indeed and one that sets a standard that he could well meet. One wonders at what point he will be pushing Adebayor and van Persie for a starting place on a regular basis, and whether that will be before December remains to be seen. In an end of season review a few years back, Arsene observed that he preferred to sign players in the January window to give them six months or so to settle into the English game and way of life. If that is the case, December will be the month when he is given his chance.

Fat Sam is really upset with the way that the fixtures have been rescheduled. The visit to St James Park comes in early December and follows a November in which Newcastle have three fixtures all month; December he notes includes something like eight games in one month. Far be it for me to point out the obvious but their dearth of fixtures is a sure sign of their inability to progress in any competition. Arsenal on the other hand have two European fixtures and potentially another round of the League Cup to fit in November as well as the three Premiership games with December having a possible nine fixtures to play. Whilst I do not agree with Allardyce very often, the inference that there is an absence of planning on the part of the football authorities is valid. Squads can be sized to cope with this sort of congestion but the size of the top flight and the scheduling of International friendlies in the competitive season are the problems. FIFA have long blathered on about cutting top flights to eighteen teams, perhaps now is the time for them to start.

A very quiet day indeed. ’til Tomorrow.