Today is either going to be a good one for Arsene or horribly bad; there seems little chance of it being anywhere in between with the full extent of Cesc Fabregas‘ injury becoming clear. I suspect a week’s absence might be considered a ‘result’ even if it means missing the Villa match. Anything more than that and well, it is bad news.

There have been many criticisms of the squad this season but one of the more bizarre to be floated since Sunday is that the absence of a direct replacement for Cesc is a weakness. How on earth do you have such a player? And more to the point, how would Arsene be able to keep such a talent, not being able to offer him more than a dozen games in a season?

The replacement for Cesc comes in a change to the way in which the team plays; less reliance on one individual to perform and allowing two or three to take the strain. More, for example, will be expected of Samir Nasri creatively at Villa Park. Indeed, he has a crucial role to play in what I would expect to be a five-man midfield on Friday.

That match is starting to take on similar circumstances to the visit to Villa Park last season with Fabregas once more missing. Two defensively minded midfielders in the centre enabled a more attacking presence as a supporting striker. This time the forward line is weakended through Adebayor’s absence but van Persie (almost) mitigates that. It is a chance for Bendtner to put in a ‘big’ performance.

The Cesc injury has led to the spate of transfer speculation increases with Andrei Arshavin seemingly the number one target of those who have no more clue than you or I. Dovetailing with that is the speculation that Nicklas Bendtner turned down a move to Spartak Moscow, all of these fantasy transfers have to funded somehow, you know.

The ‘Knight on a White Charger‘ that Alisher Usmanov wishes to be seen as is an image to send shudders down the spine. He, however, has little intention of wading in with a wad to fund anything at the moment:

I am unlikely to at the moment because I have more important financial matters to deal with. But we have never concealed that we would like to acquire a blocking stake of up to 29.9 per cent and nothing prevents us doing that. That’s what interests us and, little by little, without hurrying, we are buying up shares from the market

Which nips in the bud the immediate newspaper speculation of a bid for the company. However, he does his bit of mischief making:

When, in the space of a year, four members of the board of directors are sacked, when the general director whom everybody has praised is changed, we consider that to be a huge matter — just to sack a major shareholder without. Mr Moshiri is now in London and is trying to find out the reasons for these sharp changes and according to what explanation we get, we will decide our strategy.

No doubt those explanations will reach the ears of waiting hacks to be twisted to suit their own purposes.

’til Tomorrow.