A good way to start the weekend with Kieran Gibbs and Robin van Persie both resolving contract issues. Gibbs was the breakthrough player last season and deserves his deal. He learned some harsh lessons but showed the mental strength to recover for both club and country. In a tournament which ended in tears, Gibbs was one of the few England players who enhanced his reputation. Congratulations to him.

van Persie meanwhile has apparently agreed to sign the extension to his current contract, tieing him to the club until 2014 or a simply irresistable offer comes in. Whilst Emmanuel Adebayor occupies more column inches and divides opinions, the same cannot be said of the Dutchman. Anyone who believes that van Persie is not the club’s most important striker should remove their head from their rectum immediately.

For Wenger, securing van Persie was possibly his most important summer signing. If we as supporters rate him highly, it is inconceivable that those who train with him on a daily basis do not have a higher opinion of his abilities. More importantly, his signature is a sign of intent. van Persie’s stance all along has not been about money, it has been about the squad. Whatever psychologies Wenger has imparted in the Dutchman’s direction, he has convinced him that this squad can win titles. From that, we should draw strength and belief to underpin the inherent hopes and aspirations that every supporter has, no matter what club they follow. Crucially, if the players believe, we should cast doubts aside as the pre-season approaches. It is a new dawn, a new season, a new hope.

An interesting aside from the main point of The Independent’s article is the final paragraph. Their sources are at odds with the comments made by Wenger earlier this week on French TV where his specified Chamakh as a potential replacement should there be any departures. It is a big vote of confidence in players such as Bendtner and Eduardo that anyone would even dare to speculate that Adebayor would not be replaced should he find the vulgar charms of Milan too much to resist.

On the subject of Eduardo, he is the subject of a Q&A in this month’s FourFourTwo. Inevitably, the thrust of the article was around that injury:

Would you say that the injury made you closer to the supporters?

I think so. Last year, I was on a good run of form and with all due modesty, after the injury the team’s form deteriorated. I don’t know whether it was because they were shocked about what happened with me or something else. But everyone would come to me and say: “We need you”. What I did on my comeback for the first team, scoring twice, also helped foster that relationship with the fans.

I like a player who has an understated ego. I picture him sitting there not in an obviously conceited way, simply confident of his abilities and knowing that he is more than good enough to hold his own in the Arsenal squad. The incident still preys on his insecurities though for he will not watch the tackle again until he retires:

It’s important for me not to watch it now, for my psychological condition, for my mind. What I like to see are my goals. Those I watch over and over again.

Reflecting on his year out, he views it in terms of the time being lost in his development as a player, in terms of the improvements he could have made to his game and the goals he could have scored. As he puts it,

I have to look at it from the perspective of what I could have done

It is clear that he is a man in a hurry to make up for lost time. You get the sense that he is not going to be satisfied until he has reached his full potential and now wants to achieve that in as quick a time as possible.

For Arsenal, a fully motivated forward line that includes van Persie and Eduardo, that is a good sign for next season. A bad one, hopefully, for the opposition defences. ’til Tomorrow.