First of all, every thought should go to John Hartson and his family following the neurosurgery he underwent yesterday as a result of his cancer.

By comparison the transfer news is trivial. It might not be in the minds of the individuals involved but in the greater scheme of things, it is. Adebayor is apparently stalling on the deal. The media, no doubt fed by the disgruntlement at Arsenal and hoping to pass it onto Manchester City fans, claim that it is the player’s wages demands that are holding the deal up. Given that they have told us already that the deal on the table is worth £170k per week, either they have been woefully misinformed or willfully misleading their readers. Not too hard to work out which side of the fence I think they fall.

Whatever the reason for the prevarication – The Guardian plausibly believes it to be concern over the perception amongst his fellow countrymen – it seems to me that the deal will go through. Reports suggesting that he has already had a medical appear wide of the mark. Even so, has it gone too far to fail. Well, OK, until he signs it has not but you catch my drift.

Adebayor is aware that Arsene may want him but he is not indispensable. How does that affect him mentally? The issue becomes one of motivation for the move. Has he the desire to stay at Arsenal or during discussions with the club that he was ambivalent towards remaining in London. The suspicion will always remain that Milan was the preferred destination but once that became out of reach, any club would do.

There are no guarantees in football but he has a better chance currently of playing Champions League matches at Arsenal than at Eastlands, next season and in all likelihood, the one after. City are intent on assembling a decent starting XI but do not forget that the rest of the squad struggled last season to test the waters of the top half of the table. Injuries, suspensions, international travels all contribute negatively over a season – are the players coming in to replace the new boys up to scratch?

I am not convinced that there would be an issue within the dressing room should he remain, in fact staying may enhance his standing with his fellow squad members provided he presents the reasons for staying the correct manner. Convincing supporters or certain sections of them; well, he could score sixty goals next season and still be classified as a lazy bugger. In some people’s eyes, he will do not right. Even then, failure to score thirty will lead to criticism. It seems a little chance of a win situation.

Rob Kelly in his Daily Telegraph column argues that Arsenal will be stronger without Adebayor, surprisingly without mentioning Robin van Persie once. He believes Wenger will play Arshavin as the second striker so being top scorer and Player of the Season counts for nothing other than a place on the bench…

Incoming, unsurprisingly the focus is on Chamakh whose fee will apparently include Silvestre if Bordeaux get their way. A tad hard to imagine that the inclusion of the former Manchester United player will be a deal breaker, especially since the back four is well-stocked and his contract, like those of Gallas, Toure and Senderos, is up next summer. If he does not arrive, Huntelaar is the next media darling although VfB Stuttgart want the Dutchman and have reportedly agreed a fee of €20m. Don’t be surprised if Adebayor = Eto’o + Hleb in Catalan eyes although whether they do so in those of London N5, remains to be seen.

That’s it for today. ’til Tomorrow.