I suppose that I really ought to start today with something like, “Previously on the X-Files” or words to that effect for we are entering some sort of fantasy realm with the media coverage surrounding the club. On this Interweb thingy, there must be some sort of Fantasy Column Inches League where the journalists all score points for the articles they write. At the moment, it has been a huge scoring week for those who choose to deposit their thoughts on the heads of Arsenal fans. There are some refreshingly new angles being taken this morning by Michael Henderson of The Daily Telegraph in his piece about William Gallas and how he is unfit to be Arsenal Captain and how it will cost them the title if they retain his services. Blimey, I had not read anything like that before and now I am really worried.

But new angles they will find with Alisher Usmanov deciding that now was a quiet time for him to take up this much fabled ‘Blocking Stake’ (yawn) which the Telegraph and Guardian seem to think is important but in reality is not because he might have been able to influence two decisions in the past decade. Woo and indeed, hoo.

Let’s face it, until he is in a position where he can or has to try to take the club over, Usmanov is a pain in the Arsenal, an irritant that no matter how hard it gets hit with a rolled up newspaper will not die quietly. Maybe he will team up with that Mr Kroenke but given nobody seems to be able to find him that might be quite hard. The journalists seem to have trouble with the concept of the Takeover Panel’s rules so allow me to, in my layman’s speak, elucidate. Usmanov (or his spokesman) has said,

We will raise our stake to a blocking stake. We have announced that our company will buy up to 25%. We do not have any other plans

It is to me the last seven words that are crucial. They indicate that he is not considering a bid for the company which is a view the Takeover Panel may well share and is one that I suspect Usmanov shares otherwise he would not have made such a clear assertion. Back to another six months of quiet much to the chagrin of the Muses of the Media Circus.

There must still be legs in these two stories, plus of course the Wenger-baiting, otherwise I feel sure more would have been made of the ‘Flamini has not yet signed a new contract’ angle. Wait, someone has. And it’s The Voice of Reason, The Daily Mail that does so. Not much of a fuss though is it considering Flamini has been of equal importance to Fabregas, Hleb, Toure and Adebayor are to the squad this season and this has more legs to it that a Gallas explosion of emotion.

Flamini would to my mind, be in serious contention for one of the Player of the Season awards but given he is not a free-scoring midfielder playing for Manchester United, it would be unlikely that he would win it.

That he has not signed a new deal is at this moment in time, is not such a great concern to me. Whenever he or the club have mentioned it, negotiations are ongoing and it appears that the two sides are not that far apart in their ‘valuations’ of the players worth. There is of course, a strong argument that perhaps the club should not be holding out for a lower wage, if that is indeed the case. From Flamini’s point of view, let us not forget that two key aspects to this. Firstly, he is of an age where he is probably going to make the most money that he will do in one contract signing. He has the right to maximise this potential.

Secondly, and probably the most important angle, is that it is only this season that he has been given the chance to prove himself in the centre of midfield. Do not forget that last summer, he seemed to be a whisker away from moving on due to lack of opportunities. Even then, when he did commit himself to staying and started to produce good performances, the club signed Diarra which at the time seemed not to be a statement of intent on their part. As it transpired, Diarra chose to be a floozy and pedalled his wares for the highest pound without so much a nod and a wink in the direction of having the stomach for the fight for a place.

There is a strong argument for saying that his signing was more to do with cover because Arsene saw something in Gilberto that concerned him. Whatever the reason, Flamini has given Arsenal a good season and retained his starting line-up spot but perhaps he is not confident of keeping it, maybe wanting a show of good faith on the part of the club. I think he has had that as he is selected whenever fit after injury but it might be that he wants a bit more of that confidence.

Were he to leave, there is not a ready-made replacement for him within the squad in terms of experience. Denilson is not experienced enough to carry out the role and in any case, I believe he sees himself as more creative. Diaby is a strange kettle of fish. Undoubtedly hampered by his injury in terms of his career, he has fought back. Perhaps the long term view is for him to hold onto a central midfield berth but short term, it is hard to see him displacing Flamini. Were the move to pastures new to appeal to Mathieu, I suspect Arsene would get the chequebook out and sign a ready-made replacement but that is a decision which is some time off yet.

Onto more pressing matters and Manuel Almunia believes that maintaining the home form is vital if the title is to be landed. Which is true to an extent but winning games at teams lower down the league (yes, I know, they all are at the moment but you get my drift) is equally important. The next couple of Premier League weekends will be vital because United have relative shoo-in’s with visits to Fulham and Derby which will keep the pressure on Arsenal. Any dropped points and watch the sky fall in, according to the media.

Meanwhile, Ray Kennedy’s plight is highlighted and I vaguely recall something about the club doing something on one matchday on the official site but perhaps that was just my wishful thinking?

‘til Tomorrow.