Walcott defies Arsenal 'experts'

It's always great to see people eating humble pie . . . especially when the less-than-happy eater is someone other than myself! I've been going on since before Theo Walcott signed for Arsenal about how he's suited to be a striker. Even now, I suspect some disagree! Usually, some so-called 'expert' football fan trots out some nonsense about Theo's lack of hold-up play or about how teams won't play a high line against us so Theo won't be able to nip in behind. On the first point, they're right to some extent, as Theo will never have the presence of a Giroud exactly, although the longer he's played upfront the more he will contribute in that way. However, the theory about the high line doesn't wash, as it's not necessarily a bad thing if you have midfielders who utilise space well, like Wilshere and Cazorla to name but two. You give those guys space at your peril. Playing deep to nullify Theo's speed will allow our midfield more time on the ball. Our erstwhile winger should be running from a central position out to the wings, ironically, to create space for our incoming midfielders, if our opponents play deep. It will cause just as much havoc for opponents, as if they play a high line. Most defenders hate playing against pace and movement: Theo's recent goals are testament to that. Now all we have to do is get him to sign a new deal and keep playing him upfront!

Arsenal should buy Michu, forget Shaw for now

Happy New Year! There's an interesting article in the Daily Mail today about Swansea's Michu and how so many teams missed out on him when he was available for 'peanuts' in the summer. I suspected that Arsenal would be on that list, but no! It was the team down the road that missed the boat twice: Spurs. That said, it would be great if we could lure Michu away now. It's not going to happen, as Swansea will want around ten times the £2.2m they paid for him. Yet, Michu is so versatile he'd be well worth £20m. When I saw him at the Emirates, I was really impressed with him. And that was before he scored both goals in the Swans' shock victory. So I say: 'Sign him up, pay the dosh, do it now!' That would excite me more than our pursuit of Southampton's Luke Shaw. It looks like we're going to buy potential rather than a finished product again, if this 'exclusive' is true.

I'm no AKB but stop this Wenger witch-hunt!

It's a feeding frenzy! Knee-jerk reaction city! And it's unhealthy. I'm certainly no Wenger apologist, but calls for Wenger's head seem premature. Yes, it was humiliating getting knocked out of the Capital One Cup. And yes, something is terribly wrong at the club, right now. Strange things are going on. Podolski has been 'under the weather' (which sounded like a new definition of 'pathetic fallacy' to me) and has not been the same since. Arshavin has disappeared under mysterious circumstances, amid news in the Metro that he will never play for Arsenal again. Why? What has the meerkat done wrong? Too many Compare The Market commercials? Who knows? Also, who knows why Theo Walcott hasn't signed a new deal yet. Is it because Wenger won't play him as striker? Is that the same thing that has caused Podolski to become 'under the weather' and to lose his form? The phrase 'architect of your own downfall' comes to mind, when discussing Wenger, right now. But Reading and Wigan away are his main concerns for now. It's all about the next game. Surely, two wins and six points will change our negative perceptions. Meanwhile, 51% of ESPN viewers in a poll say Arsenal should decide Wenger's future in May. I think that would be fair. Pep Guardiola would probably be a good fit, when it comes to a successor, but there's no guarantee that he would hit the ground running. Especially not with this team. Having said that, Arsenal looked like Barcelona-lite versus the highly-placed WBA with a midfield triumvirate of Arteta, Cazorla and Wilshere. Take one of the trio out of the equation and we end up with an unholy trinity! Okay, that's a bit hyperbolic, but we certainly don't dominate games with Coquelin (for all his merits) in there instead of Arteta. So the return of Arteta could make all the difference. Oh, and Giroud, if he recovers from his back injury. These two players are key to our success. Gervinho upfront is an experiment that hasn't worked enough to justify sticking with it. Wenger's stubborn belief in Gervinho as a striker will make us lose points and players, as Podolski and Walcott become frustrated watching the Ivorian miss more than strike in front of goal. Let's hope Wenger wakes up and smells the coffee. He can still turn this season around. I'm not expecting a trophy now, but (like Wenger) I'll be satisfied with 4th place. Anything less than that, and I'll consider calling for his head too.

Does this Arsenal team have top-four quality?

After the debacle against Swansea, I've been hitting the Twittersphere big time, discussing the merits of the first XI. I still maintain Arsenal have enough talent to finish in the top four. Marc Ollington of The Gooner disagrees. So let's break down the team: Szczesny: Today's performance suggests that he is good enough to play for a top-four club. He made some impressive saves and only made one mistake, when he kicked the ball into touch after a misunderstanding with Jenkinson. But how many keepers are better than him. Lloris, Cech, Hart, Schwarzer, De Gea, Krul, Ruddy, and Jaaskelainen may be better. Jenkinson: Could you see him walking into one of the top-3 teams? Erm, no. How about Spurs. Not really, as they have Walker. So he's not top 4. Yet. Like Szczesny, he could be at that level in a year or two. Mertesacker: Maybe I'm crazy, but I think he'd get into a top-4 team. He's got a lot of caps for Germany, so that says it all. Vermaelen: He'd be able to play in any top 4 team, I feel. Gibbs: I really rate him. He's not as good as Ashley Cole yet & he's not at the level of Patrice Evra. Leighton Baines is better too, but I think he'd just about squeeze into a top-4 team. Walcott: His pace and finishing are huge assets. He's good enough for any Premier League team. He'll go to a higher placed team when he leaves Arsenal, so that will prove it! Arteta: Well, he's better than Michael Carrick, so that logic means he's good enough too! I'm worried he's playing too many games, given his age though. Cazorla: Clearly, he's good enough for any Premier League team. He's a bit off colour, right now, though. Wilshere: The same as Cazorla, except he's been off for ages through injury, so it's unfair to heap too much pressure on him. Gervinho: I'm not sure he's good enough for a midtable team, let alone one pushing for Champions League qualification. Podolski: Today's performance suggests his nowhere near good enough, but he just need a rest. You don't win 100 caps for Germany if you're not top-4 material. Subs: Giroud: Looks sharp, despite limited opportunities. Definitely, top-4 level for me, but not as technically good as Robin van Persie. Oxlade-Chamberlain: He's good enough, but he's out-of-form. He'll bounce back, but he needs time. Rosicky: Not convinced he's good enough nowadays. He used to be, but he's too injury-prone. So, I reckon 8 of the starting XI are of the required standard, 2 are quite close and 1 is nowhere near. That should be good enough, but Arsenal's problem is form not class. Wenger needs to inject some confidence into this team and then we'll be seeing so good performances again. But he will need to add to the squad or this could be a disastrous season. Marouane Fellaini will do!

No league silverware for Arsenal - just jaded

Whatever happened to the concept of Arsenal challenging for the league? That silverware looks even more beyond us after another jaded performance, this time in a scoreless draw at Aston Villa. Tony Adams posed a question about which Arsenal do the fans want back. I think most just want a team that doesn't accept fourth for first in the league. He, incidentally, doesn't think Arsenal will finish in the top 4. I think that's a tad alarmist, on his part. An away draw is not a bad result if 4th is the height of our aspiration, which it seems to be until FFP kicks in! Personally, I don't think FFP ever will kick in properly, but that's the dream we're being sold. The future is when we'll compete again. It won't be this season. Not in the league at least. Ivan Gazidis made it sound like the money from the new Emirates deal will be in place by the summer to help fund new additions. He said that we've kept our powder dry, so one or two players could come to the club in January, if Wenger wants that. We know full well, we'll try to manage on a shoe string. We also know we might win the Capital One Cup. We have a chance of that. And surely, we know we should finish in the top 4. We're really not as lousy as Adams is making out. Trouble is, we're not that good either.

Fellaini would improve Arsenal's fortunes

Glad to hear Arsenal are being linked with Marouane Fallaini. We've had a good relationship with Everton over the years and, of course, bought Mikel Arteta from them the summer before last. If Chelsea can spend wad-loads and yet still turn a profit (therefore not falling foul of the Financial Fair Play rules that have yet to be implemented), then surely Arsenal can afford to buy a player who would make a huge difference. Meanwhile, Celtic's Victor Wanyama remains another possibility. He played well in Celtic's win against Barcelona, by all accounts, but I'd prefer Arsenal to buy someone with proven Premier League quality. It's Fellaini for me. I'd pay £30m, if necessary. The problem is Chelsea are expected to offer the same kind of money, so it may well cost us £33m or more. That's the kind of money we're ready to spend on Edinson Cavani from Napoli, if you believe what you read. I'm not sure I do, but we'll have to replace Theo Walcott, if rumours about him joining Chelsea on a free transfer are correct. What would be this season without 'the man who can't finish and can't cross and who is just an athlete with a pair of football boots'? A lot worse off that's for sure! Yet, I don't know if we'll be able to find a direct replacement for him. Anyway, he's just been a super sub for most of the season. In fact, it's almost like we want to drive him out of the club. He wants to play upfront, so we play him on the wing, when he does play! I'd pay him the money he wants as I think Theo's got a great attitude as well ability. It'll be a huge loss if Theo goes. I'd say we need Fellaini more than Cavani, as I'm expecting goals-a-plenty from Olivier Giroud and Lucas Podolski. What's left after the Fellaini purchase, I'd use on buying an experienced keeper.

Go fourth & multiply Arsenal's funds

Fourth is the new first (when it comes to signing players and the bank balance) and conveniently that's where we sit right now (albeit temporarily) after a tough 1-0 victory over Queens Park Rangers. It was made extra tough by the referee's performance. Although he did send off a player near the end, he allowed Rangers to get away with only standing 8 to 9 yards away when Arsenal were taking freekicks. The referee, Anthony Taylor, even paced out 10 yards, yet still allowed the wall to stand one or 2 yards in front of where they were supposed to be. He completely lost control of the players. Despite Rangers' league position, no one should think they are definite relegation fodder. There's a lot of talent in that expensively assembled side, so despite their poor start I don't expect them to go down. Arsenal, meanwhile, huffed and puffed, which was to be expected given recent form. Arsene Wenger made a couple of changes to the team that lost to Schalke. Sagna and Wilshere were welcome returnees, with Coquelin and Jenkinson making way. Many thought Jenkinson should have kept his place in the side, and I would considered playing Sagna at left back instead of Santos. However, I remain convinced that Santos will return to his best after a few more games. Going forward, there are few better left backs than Santos. From a defensive point of view, some would argue there are few worse. Personally, I think Santos's problem is fitness. He's a clever player, who knows where he should be positionally, but he can't always make up the ground because of his lack of match fitness. Only games will improve him in this area. Mannone had a good game in goal, and provided a last-ditch save to keep the goal intact when it looks like we would give up two points. Sagna played remarkably well for someone who has been out so long, and the same goes for Wilshere. The two centre backs, Mertesacker and Vermaelen, were mostly solid, while Santos had a lot to do, but did most of it reasonably well. However, it can't be forgotten that most of QPR's attacks came down his side. That can't be a coincidence. Ramsey on the right had his moments, both positive and negative. A couple of stray passes and everyone on his back. Somebody shouted out: 'Taxi for Ramsey'. But he stayed on for the full duration of the match, and showed impressive energy levels and will be credited with an assist for Arteta's goal. Apart from scoring, Arteta was underpar. Not bad, but not at his best. The same goes for Cazorla, who didn't play like a player of the month. Still above-average compared to other Premier league players though. Podolski started brightly, but faded as the match went on. As we all know, he's been playing with an injury, so that's no surprise really. Giroud improved as the game went on, and was instrumental in the goal. He's also not too shy to shoot, and given our poor record upfront the season, he has to play. The substitutes, Walcott and Arshavin, certainly made a difference, with the little meerkat crossing for Giroud's header, which led to the goal. Gervinho's injury, while regrettable, may lead to Theo Walcott getting more opportunities to play, so that could be a blessing in disguise, especially as the England winger is yet to sign a new deal. It was great to get some good news, after two back-to-back defeats. Any win is a good win when it's a local 'derby', so I was delighted with three points. I was less than delighted in midweek, when chairman Peter Hill-Wood said at the AGM: 'Thank you for your interest in our affairs'. It was yet another PR gaffe that we've learnt to expect from Arsenal's equivalent of Prince Phillip. Still, it was a pleasing end to the week, so well done to the team for bouncing back! Let's have more of the same against Reading.

Arsenal's frightening stat

Fewest number of shots of any side in the Champions League, so far! What a frightening stat for Arsenal. Serge Gnabry hits the target in injury time against Schalke. That's the best we can manage, but we've got 6 points. I still expect us to draw in Germany. We'll finish second and face potential dangers in the knock-out stages. All the pundits are destroying Santos. Was he really that bad? He lacks match fitness. The guy's not a stick insect and he needs games. He will improve. The pundits want to blame him for everything, but his positioning is not as bad as Nigel Winterburn would us believe. I know Nutty's a legendary left back, and he doesn't rate Santos defensively, but when he got asked to state exactly what Santos did wrong for the second goal, he struggled to say. So let's keep the faith in Santos and not read too much into this defeat. Like Steve Bould says, Schalke are 'a good side'. He says we look tired and 'jaded'. Well, we need to step up against QPR, that's for sure. The management also need to pick the right team. I'd make the following changes: Gnabry to start instead of Rambo and Giroud instead of Gervinho. That might do the trick!

Arsenal's international casualties

Hello again Gooners! Been busy times at my end, but I never take my eye off the ball. No, never! Not like that San Marino keeper who crocked Theo Walcott. Never mind waist height, his challenge was chest height. Hence, Theo's hospitalisation with a chest injury. When will Fifa stop allowing tiny states like San Marino, no disrespect intended, competing without qualification with heavier weight countries like England. It makes no sense at all. It's always likely to lead to injuries top internationals and, although we are called 'lucky 'Arsenal, Theo was an accident waiting to happen. He'll be out for two weeks, probably. The only good news from that game, as far as I was concerned, was Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain scoring his first England goal. Aside from that the game was a waste of space in the fixture calendar. A so-called 'competitive' fixture offering no real competition. Meanwhile, Aaron Ramsey seem to be suffering from a lack of form and confidence, rather than bad luck. I really felt for him when he missed the chance in a one-on-one situation for Wales against Scotland. And I felt for him once again, when he put the ball on the spot take a penalty only to have the ball stolen from him by Tottenham's Gareth Bale. Of course, Bale scored and the incident will be forgotten by most fans. But for Ramsey, it may have seemed like insult to injury, as earlier in the week he had been stripped of the captaincy by Wales boss Chris Coleman. The other Arsenal man I feel for is Andrey Arshavin, left out in the international cold by Russia. But maybe that's a good thing as Arsenal may need to call on him before the season's end, if more about players get crocked on international duty. When our internationals return from their trips to various places, they'll need to prepare swiftly for a trip to Norwich. It will be 5:30 PM kick-off as the game will be televised. West Ham was a late kick-off and we coped admirably with that in her last league match, so let's hope for the same again. I had similar worries, about the possible physical and mental tiredness of the squad, before the Hammers clash. After a Champions League game, we are usually slow out of the traps. And going down 1-0 seem to confirm my fears. But the way we bounced back was admirable. Olivier Giroud's first league goal for the club will live long in the memory, as well Santi Cazorla's strike. No one seems to know which foot is Cazorla's favourite, he's that two footed! British players should take a leaf out of his book and practice their weaker foot. But they won't do it because, sadly, a lot of our stars of the future are too arrogant to believe they can improve and end up falling by the wayside as foreign imports come in to fill the talent gap. Personally, I haven't got a problem with that. I just want Arsenal to field the best possible team they can and, despite not winning trophies, we've not done a bad job in that respect.

Arsenal diary - back to winning ways

Post match: 3-1 v Olympiakos, with Arsenal's new predator, Gervinho, scoring one and setting up Podolski. Sub Giroud provides for fellow sub Rambo to make a sloppy performance look better than it was. Talk about flattering scoreline! Missing Mertesacker, who's out with a virus.

Pre-match: Jenkinson is wanted by Finland and to my surprise I'm hoping he'll choose England instead. Let's hope Roy calls him up. Just a month or so ago, I wasn't sure he was good enough for Arsenal and now I'm thinking England! You're as good as your last game or games in Carl's case.
Wenger is right to point out the positives v Chelsea and say that 'what was not good is easy to correct'. Bring Per back!
Arsenal are 10/11 to beat Olympiakos tonight, but it's not going to be that easy. However, the Chelsea defeat may pump up our players and get them extra motivated. 2-0 I reckon to Arsenal.

Monday - a media circus turned out to see Jack Wilshere's comeback game against WBA's U21 side. We lost 1-0 but Jack looked tough enough to be ready for a first-team return, judging by the way he handled some sturdy physical challenges. He looked a bit ring rusty though, but you'd expect that given the amount of time he's been out of action.

Right now, we sit in 8th, 2 points behind our next opponents West Ham, who beat bottom club QPR convincingly away from home 2-1. It's going to be tough to beat the Hammers with Sam Allardyce in charge and like us, they've only lost once so far this season. I predict a draw.

Also above us at this stage are: top-of-the-table Chelsea, who won't stay there long unless I'm very much mistaken; Everton, ditto; Man U, who are looking shaky; Man C, no surprises there; Spurs, boo hiss, but playing well; WBA, a surprise package so far but set to slip down the table I reckon; and the aforementioned Hammers.
I still say we'll finish 3rd.

Putting Arsenal's Chelsea defeat into perspective

Let's not get too upset by the Chelsea defeat. In my book, we've probably got one more point than I expected by this stage of the season. Let's review what's happened so far and put things into perspective.

Sunderland at home. I expected three points, we got one. Two points off target.

Stoke away. I expected one point, and that's what we got. Still two points off target.

Liverpool away. I expected defeat, but we won, so that's one more point than I expected. So by September 2 we were exceeding my expectations.

Southampton at home was a rout, but ultimately it was just three points so I didn't get carried away by that. Yet we still had one more point than I expected at this stage of the season.

Manchester City away. I expected defeat and we managed a point. So at this stage, we had two more points than I expected us to have.

And then came Chelsea at home. I expected a draw, as that's how most local "derbies" pan out. And that's why I expect us to draw with West Ham away in our next game, although we could do with the three points, of course. Especially bearing in mind the way the league tables looking, currently.

But we should ignore the league table to some extent, as it is still early on in the season.

Putting the Chelsea defeat in perspective, we've got one point more than I expected us to have at this stage of the season. Let's not kid ourselves, we've had a tough opening to the season. That's why I think we're doing quite well considering who we've already played against.

A lot of people are saying Per Mertesacker should have started against Chelsea, and perhaps he would have made a difference at set pieces. But Arsene Wenger was worried about Fernando Torres and his movement off the ball. That's why he selected Laurent Koscielny instead. It seemed sensible decision, until we started giving away silly free kicks on the edge of our box. In my opinion, Mertesacker gives the Arsenal defence more balance. He may be relatively slow, but his height and organisational ability adds a lot of solidity to a defence. In short, he has attributes that our other defenders do not possess. That's why he has to play as many games as possible.

Having said that, we were unlucky against Chelsea. We deserved at least a draw and I would say we did enough to earn ourselves a narrow victory. But it wasn't to be, so we should just dust ourselves off and be grateful that we've got one more point high expected at this stage of the season!

Arsenal's suped-up G-Wiz is motoring well + Sgt Jenkinson

Hello again Gooners!

I must admit I was very worried that after the international break, we wouldn't be able to manage the same kind of form that saw us beat Liverpool 2-0 at Anfield. I'm so pleased that I was so wrong!

I still maintain that Gervinho is no striker, but it's hard to drop him from the team when he's working so hard while Giroud is still waiting for his first goal. Hold up, let me qualify that. Without checking the stats, I can tell you that the Frenchman has only played six games for the club. How many of those games did he played the full 90 min? My guess is zero. Hence, the number of goals he's scored so far. Another big fat zero. If I'm wrong about that please let me know.

That's all that's missing, at the moment: a Giroud goal. Once he gets at first goal,  I feel sure that there will be no stopping him.

We've got more than we could possibly ask for, in terms of points and performances from a squad which, on paper, doesn't look that impressive.

Mannone has been criticised for not claiming the ball from the corner that led to Manchester City's goal. But the blame is not solely his. Many pundits have blamed it on our zonal marking. Yet zonal marking has led to a number of clean sheets season, so we should beware of throwing out the baby with the bathwater. I have full confidence that Steve Bould will address the issues that resulted in City's goal. Perhaps we didn't attack the ball enough and, if so, that's more about attitude than tactics.

Generally, we can't criticise the attitude of the team. In fact, the teamwork this season has been something to behold and be proud of. We might not have the best players in the world, but they are putting the team first. Mikel Arteta, captain in Vermaelen's absence, has exemplified this by playing in a withdrawn midfield role. This has allowed Diaby and Cazorla to thrive. Even Rambo has come back with a vengeance and played impressively against City.

Corporal Jenkinson deserves a promotion and deserves another stripe on his arm. So Carl, I've given you a lot of stick this season and last, but I'm now officially promoting new to the rank of sergeant. That doesn't mean I don't want to recruit a captain to play in your position, but what it does mean is I commend you for what you've done so far this season, especially against City.

Sky Sports nominated Per Mertesacker as man-of-the-match, and it's hard to argue with that assessment, although I believe Jenkinson was just as good. Gibbs on the left flank was excellent and, of course, Koscielny scored an unbelievable goal that any striker would be proud of.

All in all, it was the kind of performance that should fill us with confidence. However, I wonder if we can keep up this level of performance. Without wishing the wheels to fall off this well oiled new vehicle, I've got the feeling this Gunners team is like a suped-up G-Wiz travelling at a 100mph in the fast lane. It's shown it can reach a great speed, but can it keep it up with the Jaguars, Ferraris and Porsches throughout the course of a whole season? Time will tell.

Diaby's physique/Arsenal's Theo policy

Hello again Gooners!

Some people call this the 'interlull' and I'm inclined to agree. Life's just not the same without a bit of Premier League action. Internationals just don't do it for me. They used to, but those days have been and gone, perhaps never to return.

The most interesting thing about internationals now is watching Arsenal players in a different context. It was good to see Cazorla on the scoresheet for Spain, but it's been Diaby getting all the plaudits for another outstanding performance, this time for France, which he capped with a goal. It prompted Didier Deschamps to call him a 'complete' [insert word here]. Don't forget, Deschamps is pleased with Diaby, so it's not going to be a rude word! Okay, it was 'midfielder'. Quite a compliment. Nevertheless, he might be too exhausted for France's next game. A match winner one day and in the sickbay the next. Yes, we know all about that at Arsenal.

Diaby's physique is suddenly a much-discussed topic. Guy Roux said that Diaby 'is mounted on two matches with a spot of glue in the middle', which is another pretty graphic way of saying he is 'quite fragile'. Apart from that caveat, Guy appreciates Diaby's 'vision' and his ability to 'eliminate four or five players in a row'. I think something was lost in translation on that last part, as otherwise it would conjure up visions of Diaby twirling around like a Darlek shouting 'exterminate, eliminate!' Or something like that. And Diaby's nothing like a Darlek. Not in build. Not in viciousness. So Darlek he ain't.

Marcotti and Cascarino have been less glowing in their praise of Diaby, describing him as 'not bad'. They've had a lot of abuse from Arsenal fans for speaking their minds, but I don't see the problem with them calling it how they see it. That's what pundits are for, surely.

Stewart Robson, still in the Arsenal Player (TV) wilderness after criticising Theo Walcott (a bit too much by calling him an athlete with a pair of football boots, or something like that) agrees with Roux, Deschamps and Wenger about Diaby. I'm still in the Marcotti and Cas camp for now. The jury's out and I remain to be convinced that Diaby will offer much. Before his injury, he wasn't a world beater. He was 'not bad', in my opinion. He had something about him, a bit of flair, if you like, but he was too erratic for my liking. Not solid enough defensively and not devastating enough going forward. If you wanted to play keep ball in the middle of the field, then Diaby seemed to have a lot going for him. If you wanted to keep a clean sheet or score at the other end, I didn't really value Diaby's contribution very often.

Of course, the injury inflicted upon him was horrific. No wonder he was 'shaking on the bench because he was scared of getting injured again'. Only last year, Renand Longueve described Diaby as having 'the right leg of a 10-year-old'. The 'glue' in his middle must be under a lot of strain. It's bad enough being 'mounted on two matchsticks', but when one matchstick is bigger than the other you're likely to have a lot of problems.  

I'm not sure if it was because of the physical problems of having two different sized matchsticks, but since his injury, he's been mostly ineffectual for Arsenal, apart from against Liverpool, when he played out of his skin. Even 'Deckchair' Denilson did that occasionally. I think Diaby's got more to offer than Denilson though, so don't get me wrong on that. And with quality midfielders around him like Cazorla and Arteta, he's got a great chance to look a better player than he really is. A bit like Michael Carrick at Manchester United. It's the exceptional players around an average player that can elevate the ordinary. After all, it's a team game.

One player who can't get in any team right now is Andrey Arshavin. He won't play for Russia unless he's a first-team regular, and hands up who can imagine that happening at Arsenal?

Even Marouane Chamakh might be higher than Arshavin in Wenger's pecking order. Even Chamakh with malaria. No scrub that! It's not malaria, it's a virus.

Maybe it's the same thing that struck down Fabianski. It's strange the Pole can make it on the bench for his country, but against Liverpool it was Martinez on the bench and Mannone deputising for Szczeny. Please don't think I'm complaining about the team selection. Far from it. Mannone's a much safer than Fabianski in my opinion and Martinez is one for the future. Fabianski is one for the scrapheap, unfortunately. Our former number one, Almunia, let in a load of goals at Watford the other day, so it makes you wonder how good Wenger's judgement has been when it comes to bringing in keepers. Richard Wright looked a good keeper before he joined us, but then when to pieces. I have admit, I'd have signed Wright myself. And Pepe Reina. We could have had him for £20m, apparently, but look at him now. They're a temperament breed alright, but I've seen enough of Fabianski to last me a lifetime. I mean, I don't know who's more nervous when he plays, him or me! Anyway, I've not seen enough of Mannone and Martinez yet, but I've got high hopes for both of them. And James Shea. So maybe we're going to be alright in that department in the not-too-distant future.

Another department that gets debated a lot is the wing department. Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain may have had a great first half for England, but Roy Hodgson's annoyed with him for stepping off the gas once he knew he was getting subbed. At least, the Ox made an assist while on the pitch, while 'contract rebel' Theo Walcott did the same after replacing his Arsenal team-mate. All good for both players' confidence, although the Ox will get a dressing-down for switching off from the England boss. And Theo should get rebuked by Arsenal for not signing a new deal. Or maybe the unofficial policy is to leave Theo on the bench until he does sign a new deal. Not a bad policy, if true.

Or maybe we'll loan Theo out to get him off the wage bill. That would be as foolish as offering Arshavin on loan or on a free transfer. Oops. Oh yeah, we did that already. Thanks to the great meerkat in the sky, our little meerkat made in his image stayed at the Emirates. Now we have to hope that the great meerkat has a word in the lug-hole of the economist from Strasbourg University who picks the team.

One player who leaves on a month's loan with everyone's blessing is Chuks Aneke. He looks a decent prospect and has had spells with Stevenage and Preston, but now has a chance at Crewe. We all wish Chuks well.

Another loanee is Nicklas Bendtner, but it came as some surprise to hear he might return to play for Arsenal again. Absence makes the heart grow fonder it seems, and Bendtner is back in Wenger's good books: 'We believe in him and that is why we gave him to Juventus on loan'. And there I was thinking it was because Juve wouldn't pay enough up front to make the deal permanent. Having said that, I think 'Super Nick' could become an excellent centre forward one day. It would be nice if it's at Arsenal, but I doubt it will be, unfortunately.

The next player who could get offloaded is Francis Coquelin, if he's not in the team prompto. After just 3 games, he's impatient for his chance. He will take stock in 6 months, he says. Everton, QPR and Aston Villa have all been credited with an interest in a player I rate, but the question remains: is he better than Seb Larsson? I'm not so sure he is. So that could mean the exit door will beckon for ol' Coq-au-vin.

Coming in could be Bordeaux's Yoan Gouffran. He's 26 now and needs to start realising his potential. He's available for £3m in January and will be free if we can wait until the summer. Fulham, Villa and Everton are monitoring developments and my guess is we are too.

Montpellier defender Mapou Yanga-Mbiwa seems more likely to go to Newcastle in January, all of a sudden. Are we bothered? He turned us down because he wanted a dream move to AC Milan. That never happened, of course, due to the Italians only offering £4.75m for him. He'll be available on a free in the summer, if the Newcastle interest is not what the media would have us believe.

Then there's Anderlecht defender Cheikhou Kouyate. As well as ourselves, Newcastle and Man City are apparently interested. Some sources say we 'held talks' with him. He says he 'had a good feeling about contact from Wenger and Arsenal'. I could say that a séance. So no, I don't believe this story. At all. So there!

That's all for now folks!

Cole return? Gunnersaurus for chairman + fish & meerkat talk

Hello again Gooners! Wakey, wakey! Lots to get your head around today! Or maybe not! Maybe it's time to scream out like Mr Frank Doberman on the Harry Enfield show. Read on and you'll see what I mean.

TalkSport are showing plenty of determination to keep themselves high in the traffic rankings outside of the transfer window, and why shouldn't they? They've got bills to pay, right? So you won't see me getting steamed up about speculation. Usually. This time they've gone beyond the pale. Perhaps. By linking us with contract rebel, Ashley Cole.

Now, I've said before that Wenger doesn't bring that many ex-players back to Arsenal, but he did recently with Thierry Henry and before that Sol Campbell. But both were short-term deals. Cole wants at least a two-year deal and being the wrong side of 30, he's more than a tad unlikely to get that at Arsenal. Then there are his wage demands to consider. Arsenal won't break the bank to bring back an ageing former (dare I say it?) legend. Of course, Cole has become legendary for all the wrong reasons at Arsenal, so there's no way he'll be back.

Mikael Silvestre might be a different kettle of fish though. He's in training at London Colney and I maintain he didn't do a bad job for us last time around. So if we need an extra body in defence, don't be too surprised if Silvestre re-joins. Was he really worse than Philippe Senderos, to name just one dodgy centre back we've been saddled with? I'd say not.

Talking of fish, boyhood Arsenal supporter Harry Redknapp reckons Theo Walcott 'can become a big fish at Arsenal', if played in his right position. That, of course, is centre forward. Harry goes on to say that full backs can handle Theo's speed of thought and pace better than central defenders and I think he has a point. I'd play Theo on the shoulder of the last defender, where his pace could be most devastating. It could lead to plenty of one-on-ones. And as we've seen, Theo can finish. Better than Gervinho, at least.

A former big fish, Cesc Fabregas, hasn't taken kindly to life as a small fish in a big Barca pond, apparently. I'd take these stories with a pinch of salt, but the upshot is Cesc wants out. Would we want him back? Of course, we would. He's not like Santi Carzorla, at all, in my opinion. Yes, he's a creative midfielder, and yes, he's Spanish. That's where the similarities begin and end. We've seen Cesc play as a false number 9 for Spain. Can you imagine Cazorla playing in that position. No? Me neither.

One player who could do that and lots more is Andrey Arshavin. That's why I'm relieved that the Russian transfer deadline has been and gone and the meerkat remains an Arsenal meerkat. Quite why the club were offering him on a free transfer is anyone's guess. I can't believe it. Also, a loan move to Dinamo Moscow was apparently rejected by Arshavin, according to the Russian club's manager Dan Petrescu. Meanwhile, we've had official word from Russian club Zenit St Peterburg that Arshavin being offered on a free transfer was indeed true. Quoting RAI Novosti, for a moment: 'Arsenal have allowed Arshavin to leave on a free transfer, which was one of Zenit's conditions for signing the former player'. Apparently, there was a second condition that wasn't fulfilled. Only Arshavin knows this second condition, we're told. What could it have been? No more meerkat adverts?

Anyway, Arshavin will almost certainly leave on a free next summer if he's not sold in the January 2013 transfer window. Former Gunner Nigel Winterburn reckons we need to start 'nailing' down players 'when they've got one-and-a-half years to go' on their contracts. I make him right. So that means we need renegotiate deals for Wojciech Szczeny, Tomas Rosicky (okay, maybe not him!), Marouane Chamakh (defintely not him!), Denilson (ditto), Nicklas Bendtner (ditto and will be sold soon, hopefully), Vito Mannone (one of three quality goalkeepers of about the same level at the club, according to Wenger) and Bacary Sagna.

Mmm. Bacary. Is he about to breeze off with his old mate Alex Song to Barcelona? Or will Man City come calling? He said: 'In May, I watched City's parade on Tv. I saw Samir [Nasri] and Gael [Clichy] lift the trophy. I want that.' Will he get it by staying at Arsenal? Not until or if they Fair Financial Play rules kick in. No wonder Wenger is so in favour of FFP. It's a case of 'No Poo Poirot' when websites run that headline!

With or without FFP, though, will our fortunes on the transfer front change that much? Mapou Yanga-Mbiwa reckons Arsenal made a 'tentative approach' for his services. But he'd rather go to AC Milan. The Italian club's £4.75m bid was rejected, but why didn't the Montpellier captain fancy joining his former team-mate Olivier Giroud at Arsenal? Was it the lack of trophies? Was it the pay packet? Was it because Arsenal's approach was so 'tentative' that it was imaginary. I hope we'll find out one day!

I'd like to know the same about our two bids for Newcastle Yohan Cabaye. Louise Taylor of the Guardian say we made a couple of offers for the France international midfielder, so she's either got some pukka sources or she's just made it up. Maybe we'll go back for Cabaye in January, if our interest is genuine.

One player who almost certainly won't be joining is former England U17 international Liam Moore. The 19-year-old Leicester defender is much-coveted, so that means he'll probably end up at Manchester United. Everton, Spurs and Villa are also interested in the 14-stone youngster.

I'm pessimistic about signing English talent because of the price. United beat us to Nick Powell, and no doubt they'll beat us to Moore, if the interest is genuine. As Peter Hill-Wood says 'We can't spend £50m on one player'. We all know that. We don't need to be told that. Actions speak louder than words as does inaction. On the transfer front, in Arsenal's case.

Hill-Wood thinks we could win the league this season, but I don't share his optimism. Clubs run on shoestrings rarely win trophies. And if they do, they can't sustain it. And if they do, they're usually playing in a smaller league than we are.

Hill-Wood's right about one thing: 'The Glasgow Rangers example is something we've all got to guard against'. Others would mention Leeds United in the same breath. It's all very well having ambition, but when it involves such a high level of risk, who would back that? I suspect not many of us.

Nevertheless, I don't understand why he won't allow Usmanov on the board. If Usmanov is willing to shell out millions on our squad what's the problem with that? As long as all the paperwork is in place to stop the club falling into financial ruin, what's the problem? Hill-Wood said that he didn't think Usmanov would 'fit in, that's all'. That's pretty crass. It's like objecting to David Dein's idea of sharing Wembley because it's a 'bloody long way' to go. Dein's idea would have ensured that we had more money to spend on transfers. Then we could have competed for the league still. It's a good job I'm not on the board, as I would vote Gunnersaurus in as chairman. The mascot might resemble the present incumbent in some ways, but might be better at PR. Rant over!

Don't make Mannone a Manninger!

Mannone's performance at Anfield is deservedly earning him plenty of plaudits and it will be interesting to see if Wenger changes a winning side, presuming Szczeny is fit for the Southampton game.

Let's not forget, he changed a winning side when Manninger was around, performing heroics while Seaman was injured. Yet, despite this, old 'Safe Hands' walked straight back into the side.

Manninger was never the same again at Arsenal. His confidence was shot to bits. It was a sad end to a promising career at Arsenal.

Sagna could be next big Arsenal name for exit

Judging by ths story on ESPN, Sagna could be the next big name to leave Arsenal.

If he doesn't recover fully from his injury, he won't be such a big miss; but on his day, he was the best right back in the Premier League.

For all of Jenkinson's improvment to date, he's still not a patch on old Medusa. But then again, not many right backs are.

Reading between the lines, I get the feeling Sagna was close to Song. That's why I reckon he will follow suit by next summer.

Arsenal could lose their new Liam Brady

I think you already know how highly I rate Conor Henderson, AKA the new Liam Brady. Well, I don't know if it's good or bad news, but Arsenal boss Arsene Wenger seems to agree with me, judging by what the youngster has revealed to the Irish Independent.

I'm not sure what Wenger is thinking of, though, as at this rate we'll lose Henderson for next to nothing (i.e. just compensation for his development). We could be in a similar state with Craig Eastmond, whose contract expires next season, according to the Transfer Markt website.

But at least Eastmond has been included in Arsenal's Premier League squad, which appears below, albeit mainly because he has to be named now that he's FA-officially over 21 years of age.

Arsenal's Premier League Squad - (contract expiry date)

Rules: up to 25, maximum 17 non-homegrown, unlimited U21s (i.e. born on or after 16/1/91)

1. Andrey Arshavin (2013)

2. Mikel Arteta (2015)

3. Santi Cazorla (2016)

4. Marouane Chamakh (2014)

5. Andre Clarindo dos Santos (2015)

6. Abou Diaby (2015)

7. Johan Djourou (2015)

8. Lukasz Fabianski (2013)

9. Gervinho (2015)

10. Kieran Gibbs (2014)

11. Olivier Giroud (2017)

12. Laurent Koscielny (2017)

13. Vito Mannone (2014)

14. Per Mertesacker (2015)

15. Lukas Podolski (2016)

16. Aaron Ramsey (2016)

17. Tomas Rosicky (2014)

18. Bacary Sagna (2014)

19. Sebastien Squillaci (2013)

20. Wojciech Szczeny (2014)

21. Thomas Vermaelen (2015)

22. Theo Walcott (2013)

23. Craig Eastmond (2013)

Just to complicate things, the Champions League squad is slightly different. Eastmond has been left out, but Serge Gnabry is in, according to Jeorge Bird's Arsenal Youth website.

And here's the full list from the official Arsenal website.

A stick insect at a Beatles convention

It's Russian transfer deadline day today, but I predict Andrey Arshavin will still be an Arsenal player after it, despite the Daily Mirror's list of clubs queuing up to take him off our hands:

 You shouldn't always listen to my predictions though, as I said we wouldn't win at Liverpool. I was also said Diaby was a waste of space, or words to that effect, but he proved me wrong. He stood out like a stick insect at a Beatles convention and for once he didn't just blend into the scenery like stick insects generally do. He was effective and I'm going to hold fire on the insecticide for a while after that performance.

Defensively, with 3 clean sheets on the spin, it seems that we owe a lot to Steve Bould. Although nobody dares to shout it from the rooftops. Why? Remember what happened to Martin Keown?

While we should enjoy our victory, I don't think we should get too carried away with the start we've had. We're already 4 points off top spot. Luckily, the Germans in our camp, Mertesacker and Podolski, are too level-headed to let the elation of an Anfield victory get to them. They are sensible one-game-at-a-time merchants and we need that type. Especially Podolski. His work-rate is phenomenal and I hope the rest of the team can take a leaf out of his book.

Next up is Southampton and they'll be no pushovers despite their lowly position. So no complacency please Arsenal.

Some Gooners want Usmanov to bankroll Arsenal now + Liverpool preview

We go into today's game at Liverpool wondering where the goals are going to come from, but grateful about the clean sheets. Whoever plays in goal will have his work cut out, that's for sure. Szczeny could be out, so Mannone is expected to deputise.

Upfront, we've not had a lot of luck so far. Cazorla deserved a least a goal, so if I were a betting man I'd be putting my 'hard-earned' on a Santi strike. Maybe Theo 'I'm staying for now' Walcott will tear his boyhood favourites apart again, as he did once before at Anfield.

We can only hope that Liverpool will be out of gas, following their exertions in midweek against Hearts in the Europa League. I'm predicting a draw, but Anfield is 'always a difficult place to go to', as they say in football parlance. It might be a cliche, but it's actually true in this case and, although we haven't lost there for four years, our good fortune has to end soon. Let's hope it's not this afternoon, given that we've already dropped four points.

Meanwhile, rather than focusing on 'the now', it seems like the club is preparing to challenge again for the title in 2014-15, as that's when UEFA's Financial Fair Play rules will take effect. Well, in theory, at least. Personally, I don't think FFP will make any difference at all. It's a nice idea, but that's the beginning and end of it. Yet the Emirates Stadium naming rights will be up for grabs in 2014 and our deal with Nike runs out then, so 2014-15 could really be the season that Arsenal will actually have more money at their disposal than all of their Premier League rivals. Well, that's what the club appear to be banking on.

It seems to me that Arsenal have chosen to run a tight ship because it suits the board to do so. Although I don't want the club to over-spend, under-spending is just as foolish if by doing so you don't seize the opportunity to compete on the pitch. Saving money can be a false economy if it results in weakening our fan base. We need to be looking at adding to the fan base whenever possible and the best way to do that is with success on the pitch. Trophies attract fans. Philosophies, especially those rigidly stuck to, are only going to alienate fans. That's why I fear for the future.

No wonder some fans want Alisher Usmanov on the board now. They want someone who will bankroll the club now, so we can be title contenders again. The current board seem content with 3rd place. For most fans, it's not good enough. And we're going to weaken our global appeal if we keep going down this route.

Summer transfer window - winners and losers

Arsenal: 3 in (Cazorla, Giroud, Podolski), 14 out (Afobe, Almunia, Bartley, Bendtner, Campbell, Cruise, Denilson, Hoyte, Lansbury, Miyaichi, Park, Song, van Persie, Vela)

Arsenal have brought in quality players - like Carzorla, Podolski and Giroud - but, until the new arrivals gel into a team, the jury will be out. Apart from van Persie and Song, the other departing 12 will not be missed, so Wenger's squad has improved ever-so slightly.

Aston Villa: 8 in (Bennett, Benteke, Bowery, El Ahmadi, Holman, Lowton, Vlaar, Westwood), 5 out (Collins, Cuellar, Delfouneso, Heskey, Makoun)

Lambert has brought in relative unknowns without much Premier League experience for mostly undisclosed fees, apart from Benteke (£7m), so he must trust the Villa scouts a lot! Five relatively big names have left, but at least the new boss has more senior professionals at his disposal.

Chelsea: 6 in (Azpilicueta, Eden Hazard, Thorgan Hazard, Marin, Moses, Oscar), 18 out (Benayoun, Bosingwa, Bruma, Chalobah, Courtois, de Bruyne, Drogba, Essien, Gordon, Thorgan Hazard, Hutchison, Ince, Kakuta, Kalas, Kalou, Lukaku, McEachran, van Aanholt

Di Matteo has really trimmed down his squad and seems to have bought wisely, judging by Eden Hazard's quick adaptation to the Premier League. The Blues have had a good start, considering they're a team in transition.

Everton: 5 in (Kennedy, Mirallas, Naismith, Oviedo, Pienaar), 8 out (Cahill, Forshaw, Hahnemann, McFadden, Rodwell, Silva, Wallace, Yobo)

Moyes did well to sign old Toffees favourite Pienaar, earlier in the transfer window. Other signings like Mirallas (who's already scored since his arrival), Oviedo, Kennedy and Naismith might come good as well. They'll need to, as Everton have lost a fair bit of flair by offloading Cahill, McFadden and Rodwell.

Fulham: 8 in (Berbatov, David, Dejagah, Richardson, Riether, Rodallega, Williams), 6 out (Dembele, Dempsey, Etuhu, Gecov, Johnson, Murphy)

Signing Berbatov on transfer deadline day was a major coup for Jol, especially as there was interest from Spurs, Fiorentina and Juventus. It's a risky signing, but will pay off if Berbatov decides to out a shift in! Richardson is a solid signing, who won't let the club down. Meanwhile, the club may rue the day that Dempsey decided he was leaving. Dembele will also be missed.

Liverpool: 5 in (Allen, Assaidi, Borini, Sahin, Yesil), 13 out (Adam, Amoo, Aquilani, Aurelio, Bellamy, Carroll, Darby, Eccleston, Kuyt, Mukendi, Rodriguez, Silva, Spearing)

Rodgers has trimmed down his squad and it's going to be interesting to see how well his midfield, which may now include Allen, Borini and Sahin will dovetail alongside the likes of Gerrard. Not many of the players he's let go will be missed that much.

 

Man C: 6 in (Garcia, Maicon, Nastasic, Rodwell, Sinclair, Wright), 13 out (Adebayor, Boyata, Bridge, Bunn, Cunningham, De Jong, Elabdellaoui, Hargreaves, Johnson, McGivern, Santa Cruz, Savic, Weiss)

City rarely disappoint when it comes to bringing big names in, but Mancini left it late to grab Garcia and Maicon. Those two might not adapt instantly to the Premier League, but Sinclair should hit the ground running. Some big names have left too, like Adebayor, Bridge, de Jong, Santa Cruz and Johnson, but the squad had to be trimmed down.

Man U: 4 in (Buttner, Kagawa, Powell, van Persie), 12 out (Berbatov, Cofie, De Laet, Fabio, Fryers, James, Kuszczak, McGinty, Norwood, Owen, Park, Pogba)

Fergie has added quality not quantity to his squad, by bringing in Kagawa and van Persie. Perhaps, Park Ji-Sung's departure was a little surprising, but United now have a lean, mean fighting machine of a squad.

Newcastle: 4 in (Amalfitano, Anita, Bigirimana, Good), 5 out (Best, Drummett, Forster, Guthrie, Smith)

Pardew is still relying on his chief scout to unearth some diamonds, and it will be interesting to see if Carr has done it again. No big-name departures, so the Magpies are in fine fettle.

Norwich: 9 in (Bassong, Bunn, Butterfield, Garrido, Kane, Snodgrass, Tettey, Turner, Whittaker), 7 out (Ayala, Crofts, Drury, Francomb, Vaughan, Whitbread, Wilbraham)

Hughton raided his old club Spurs for Bassong and Kane, but those two are not expected to take the Premier League by storm. None of the players that have left are likely to be greatly missed.

QPR: 12 in (Bosingwa, Cesar, Diakite, Fabio, Granero, Green, Hoilett, Johnson, Magri, Mbia, Nelsen , Park), 16 out (Agyemang, Barton, Borrowdale, Bothroyd, Buzsaky, Connolly, Cook, Gabbidon, Hall, Helguson, Kenny, Perone, Ramage, Shittu, Smith, Vine)

Hughes has brought in a whole new team and got rid of a lot of dead and not-so-dead wood. It's clear that he and the board mean business. It might take a while for this new squad to gel though, so Rangers fans may have to be patient.

Reading: 8 in (Gunter, Guthrie, Mariappa, McCleary, Pogrebnyak, Shorey, Sweeney, Taylor), 4 out (Andersen, Antonio, Manset, Sheppard)

The squad looks stronger than last season, judging by the arrivals of Gunter, Guthrie and Pogrebnyak, in particular. Shorey should 'shore' things up at the back, with Taylor who might 'save nine' a game, if the old adage about a 'stitch in time' proves true.

Southampton: 7 in (Clyne, Cropper, Davis, Gazzinga, Ramirez, Rodriguez, Yoshida), 9 out (Bialkowski, Connolly, Dean, Doble, Hammond, Harding, Holmes, Jaidi, Sharp)

The Saints have been busy on the transfer front, but their new players may take time to settle. A lot of pressure will be on £12m-signing Ramirez to prove his worth.

Stoke: 6 in (Adam, Cameron, Edu, Kightly, Ness, N'Zonzi), 4 out (Collins, Davies, Lund, Woodgate)

The additions of Adam, Kightly and N'Zonzi are likely to make Stoke even more formidable than they were last season.

Sunderland: 5 in (Cuellar, Fletcher, Johnson, Rose, Saha), 9 out (Angeleri, Carson, Cook, Elmohamady, Gordon, Gyan, McCartney, Richardson, Turner)

All the additions look like astute signings at best and worth a gamble at worst. Some big names like Gordon, Gyan, McCartney and Richardson have been allowed to move on though, somewhat surprisingly, perhaps.

Swansea: 7 in (Bartley, Chico, de Guzman, Hernandez, Ki Sung-yeung, Michu, Proctor), 7 out (Allen, Bessone, Bodde, Dobbie, Donnelly, Orlandi, Sinclair)

Laudrup's got off to a good start, but can he keep it up? Hernandez will have their work cut out to stop the fans missing the likes of Sinclair and Allen.

Tottenham: 6 in (Adebayor, Dembele, Dempsey, Lloris, Sigurdsson, Vertonghen), 15 out (Alnwick, Bassong, Corluka, Dos Santos, Fredericks, Kane, Khumalo, King, Kranjcar, Modric, Nelsen, Pienaar, Rose, Saha, van der Vaart)

Spurs have bought wisely, yet still managed to trim down their squad. Modric and van der Vaart may be missed, but Kane and Rose are likely to return from their respective loan spells as much improved players.

WBA: 6 in (El Ghanassy, Foster, Lukaku, Popov, Rosenberg, Yacob), 6 out (Andrews, Cox, Fulop, Mattock, Shorey, Tchoyi)

Ben Foster still looks like the Baggies' 'safest' signing of the summer, but the fans may have hoped for more transfer activity and a more worn-out welcome mat. The departures are unlikely to upset many.

West Ham: 11 in (Benayoun, Carroll, Collins, Diame, Diarra, Henderson, Jaaskelainen, Jarvis, Maiga, McCartney, Spiegel), 7 out (Baldock, Barrera, Green, Maynard, Morrison, Nouble, Sears)

West Ham have brought in a whole new team, and only Rob Green will be a significant loss. Jaaskelainen is arguably as good anyway. The additions of old favourites like Benayoun and McCartney are a bit of a coup, but Big Sam deserves special praise for landing Carroll.

Wigan: 4 in (Fyvie, Kone, Miyaichi, Ramis), 9 out (Diame, Dicko, Golobart, Kirkland, Moses, Nicholls, Rodallega, Sammon, Watson)

The squad looks a bit weaker now without Moses and Rodallega. The four new signings will really have to pull their weight to compensate for the loss of 9 squad members.

No more snowmen at Arsenal please!

So here we are. The day of reckoning on the transfer front has arrived. 

The Theo Walcott transfer saga has continued despite the best efforts of Arsene Wenger to put the matter to bed. If he really wants to do that, he needs to tuck Theo up with a teddy bear stuffed with a £100k-per-week wage packet plus a hefty signing-on fee plugging up his hot water bottle.

If Wenger doesn't and just insists that Theo should stay a good boy and remain in bed, the diminutive winger could end up getting whisked off somewhere like that kid does in 'The Snowman'. For some strange reason, it's quite easy to imagine Theo singing 'We're Walking In The Air'. The next line would surely be, 'I'm flying down the wing'. 

But if Wenger is serious about Theo staying, he should make sure he's flying down the centre. That's where Theo wants to play and Wenger always says he sees the England international as a striker, eventually. Well, after no goals scored in our first two games, now would be a good time to start trying him out there. The future starts here! 

Apparently, Wenger spoke to Theo personally, after the 0-0 draw against Stoke, and Le Boss was expecting to have to deal with a petulant over-age teenager, sulking about being dropped. But as I've said before, Theo's attitude is refreshing. Although, Theo's chin was touching the floor, apparently, due to his disappointment at being dropped, he still professed his love of the club and Wenger was pleasantly surprised to hear that he wants to stay. However, it still seems a tad risky not to sell Theo, if he's still refusing to put pen to paper on a new deal.

Although some reports suggest a short-term deal has been agreed, I find this hard to believe as no specific details have been revealed. And even if it's been agreed, it doesn't mean it's been signed. Unless you get the deal signed, then you can't rely on a gentleman's agreement protecting your interests. Remember when chairman Peter Hill-Wood said he had a gentleman's agreement with Barcelona over Cesc Fabregas. Next thing you know, the Spanish version of 'The Snowman' whisked one of our 'kids' off into the Catalonian night.

Please Arsene, we don't need another performance of 'The Snowman'. Once in Spanish was enough.

Meanwhile, we now know our opponents in the Champions League: Schalke, Olympiakos and Montpellier. None sound that easy to me. Schalke have lost the ageing Raul, but still have Klass Jan Huntelaar to worry us. Olympiakos are never easy to play against, but if their Drama-born superstar, Ioannis Fetfatzidis, is that theatrical maybe he'll get sent off or something. Or perhaps he'll win a penalty, which would be worrying, if it were against us. Then there's Montpellier, Olivier Giroud's old club. I wished we'd signed their number 10, Younes Belhanda, as well as that would make them even weaker.

I'd been hoping for Malaga, Anderlecht and Braga, so Group B is much more difficult than I was hoping for. Strangely, I predicted we'd play Schalke and Olympiakos. It was just a guess. I didn't have any inside knowledge. Honest!

Back to the transfer front, for a moment: there are strong rumours that we're about to sign Dentinho for 8.5m euros. He sounds like a Brazilian chewing gum to me, but I know we've been linked with him before. His agent is Ben Thorne, who represents three Chelsea players: David Luiz, Oscar and Lucas Piazon. So perhaps Dentinho will join Chelsea instead.

TalkSport have re-ignited rumours that we're about to sign Gregory van der Wiel from Ajax. I hope not, as I wasn't impressed with his performances for Holland at the Euros. Arsenal's chief negotiator (AKA a man with importance but without a job title), Richard Law, wouldn't confirm or deny this rumour.

I don't really believe TalkSport much these days, but they're sure to get something right. They claim Arsenal are chasing 6 players: 1) Yohan Cabaye (yes, Arsene, please get him, even though it was me that started this story, just like Olivier Giroud!), 2) Etienne Capoue (Toulouse), 3) Yann M'Vila (Rennes), 4) Cheikhon Kouyate (Anderlecht defender),  5) Fernando Llorente (Athletic Bilbao), and 6) Milo (Haras El Hodood). I'll take a number one and a number five please!

The Daily Mail claim we have asked Chelsea if we can have Michael Essien on loan, which is a bit like getting Yossi Benayoun from them last year. Who would have predicted that? Not me! Other sources say we're trying to get Daniel Sturridge on loan too. Why stop there? Why don't we try to sign the entire Chelsea reserve team? They would rather sell Sturridge for £15m, so I guess we can forget about that happening.

One semi-confirmed signing is a new goalkeeper. But don't get too excited. He's 17. He's Macedonian and his name is Dejan Iliev. Apparently, he's joined our youth set up from FK Belasica. Great! Maybe he'll be pushing for a first-team place by 2020!

Why don't Arsenal sell players who won't re-sign with 2 years left on their contracts?

As the closure of the transfer window trundles ever closer, I thought I'd have a quick look at one sale that might or might not happen. Well, everyone else is doing it, so why not jump on the bandwagon?

For most clubs, one transfer saga would be enough. Not for Arsenal, though! As if Robin van Persie long-protracted departure wasn't enough, we've had the speedier departure of Alex Song, and now there's speculation about Theo Walcott's future.

I've always maintained that Theo would stay. He seems happy enough, which is strange given the undeserved flak he gets sometimes. The guy is match-winner getting played out of position. As a young striker at Newbury, he scored over 100 goals in a season. Yet some Gunners 'fans' claim Theo can't finish!

I admit that Theo lacks the 'football brain' of Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain, but Theo has a good attitude and will learn, if he gets the right coaching. The problem is how many wingers have Arsenal developed into better widemen under Arsene Wenger? I can't think of any. All the good wingers were good before they arrived. When they left they weren't much better than they were before they arrived, unless you include Thierry Henry, who ended up playing as a striker. Marc Overmars and Robert Pires didn't improve a lot at Arsenal, although the latter took a while to adjust, as they were already established internationals. Jose Antonio Reyes regressed at Arsenal, but I blame that on overzealous Premier League tackling. Freddie Ljungberg may have improved at Arsenal, but I didn't see enough of him before his arrival to be sure of that. Besides which, Freddie wasn't a traditional winger in the 'hugging the touchline' sense of the word.

So, I'm concluding that Theo's best chance of developing as a player at Arsenal would be to switch to the Thierry Henry role. Why does Wenger say he sees Theo as a striker and then not play him there? It seems like he's setting him up to fail.

How on earth Wenger can experiment with Gervinho as a lone striker is beyond me. The Ivorian is a tricky customer, but rarely looks like finding the net. It must be so frustrating for Theo, waiting in the wings (pun intended!).

If Theo does leave, I will lay a lot of blame firmly at Wenger's door. He's the one constantly playing Theo out of position. The rest of the blame will rest with the unappreciative fans. I guarantee that if we sell Theo to a Premier League rival that decision will haunt us.

Having said that, I'm not advocating we give in to all of Theo's demands. Our negotiating team of Ivan Gazidis, Richard Law and David Miles should give him £80k per week. Surely Theo deserves to get the same salary as new signings Santi Cazorla and Lukas Podolski? Our current offer is £75k plus a £5m signing-on fee, apparently. I'd up the signing on fee to around £7m, if necessary.

But then again, if Wenger's planning to only deploy Theo as a winger, it may be time to cash. There's still time to change Theo to a striker. He's still only 23, so probably 4 years away from his peak, lest we forget.

The club have to use these past two summers as a wake-up call. Last season, we were forced into selling Samir Nasri, more or less, has he entered the last year of his contract. Why do we continually let this happen? If the club refuses to be more transparent about these things, they will inevitably attract a lot of the blame.

Why don't negotiations begin when a player has two years left on a current deal? If the player won't sign then, we should start looking at offloading him. If that were the case, we should get more value-for-money for any subsequent sale that takes place, as we'll have more transfer windows to play with when it comes to finding the right deal.

The only other way of doing it, I can do it, would be to have a clause written into contracts, whereby the club can re-sign a player for an extra year when he's entering the last year of his contract. Manchester United did that with Dimitar Berbatov, see this article in the Guardian written back in February.

The club have to learn, as even though this summer was better than the last one (as we actually did some significant buying relatively early), we can't look back fondly on the departure under a cloud of two or three first-teamers. A change would make financial sense, I think, so hopefully our economics graduate of a manager will insist that the same thing doesn't happen again.