So the Champions League sees jaunts to Portugal, Turkey and Kiev. As is usual, the away trips fall into a less than helpful fixture schedule. Kiev is the filling in the trips to Blackburn and Bolton sandwich; Fenerbahce and Porto immediately before West Ham and Middlesbrough play hosts. It is the same as previous seasons and will no doubt be repeated in the future. At least the Kiev journey of all is in times when the weather will be less inclement than previous sojourns to the Ukraine. Fenerbahce though are the dark horses. The combination of a big hostile crowd, the longest journey and a tactically astute manager mean that this is the fixture that may prove most difficult to negotiate.

It is a group that is emminently winnable and I do not subscribe to the view postulated by PHW that the home form will be all important. It alwayshas been, is and will be but of equal importance is to not field a Carling Cup side until qualification is ensured. Of course, the only way to do that is to make sure that everyone is fit which can be in the hands of the Gods.

Danny Fiszman moved into positive PR mode yesterday, stating categorically that if Arsene wanted a player for £30m then he could buy him. It is a soothing finger for those who want ‘big names’, the carrot for media speculation and a stick with which Red & White get beaten over the head. The money has nothing much to do with why Arsene has not signed according to Fiszman,

If we were to buy star names, you are talking about relatively mature players who need to be integrated into the way Arsene plays. They don’t know our style and it also impacts on the youngsters who’ve been brought through

I am not sure that I buy into this totally. Any world-class player – for that is what you expect for such transfer fees – ought to have little problem adapting to the style of play, irrespective of age. More often, the problem will be settling off the pitch which is where perhaps Arsene’s reticence to spend huge sums comes from. Baptista, Reyes and Hleb have all cited something about London that they do not like, be it wet, cold or just unfriendly. However, that adaptability is part of the scouting process and does not hold true for some as much as it does for others.

The fundamental problem is that Arsene does not like to pay over the odds. In this instance, if Barry and Alonso were true targets, there is some merit. However, the market dictates the price and there is little evidence of the money in football drying up to force prices down.

As important, if not more, is the pay structure. Fiszman’s point about the size of the wages bill is a red herring if it is based on the accounts. For example, we do not know how many employees United or Chelsea have off the pitch by comparison. The crucial thing is the ‘equality’ within the players wages. If the band is narrow compared to others, as Fiszman says, you do get the team ethos but you also approach a point whereby the structure has to be broken to retain the best players.

For Arsenal though, high salaries have rarely been paid since the turn of the century to new signings. Those who do, for example, Campbell cost nothing. Everyone else has to earn their corn and there is nothing wrong in that so long as the cob is made bigger when required, something that has happened for exceptional players. Long may that continue. The flip side is that you miss out on some players who feel they have made their elsewhere and are looking for the big payday. Not signing the ‘mature’ professional sidesteps that issue.

Gael Clichy will obviously not be using The Emirates this summer to resit any GCSE’s as he has proved he has enough nous to get by in life, irrespective of qualifications. And also being generally supportive of your captain through holding up your own mistakes as an example. Getting on the right side of supporters is also a good idea,

It was a big disappointment for the fans to see what happened during the summer but Ade is a big, big player; last year, he showed he has the quality to be one of the best in Europe, so we just have to be behind him. I am sure if he starts scoring goals and in December, he is on 15-20 goals, everything will be fine

And who says players are out of touch?

’til Tomorrow.