Cesc will return to Arsenal, won't he?

In the absence of any Arsenal transfers of note, it's obvious we're all going to hark back to yesteryear. Yet, most of the players we 'lost' were no real loss, in my opinion. Even when we sold someone at the top of his game, we got good money for his services - which could have been spent (in theory at least) on bringing in more than adequate replacements.

That's how I feel about all our departures, with the exception of Cesc Fabregas. We sold him too cheaply. However, I consoled myself with the thought that he would return one day. Not just to England, but to Arsenal. Now, one of my favourite players of all-time could end up at Manchester United and not Arsenal, if Sky Sports are to be believed.

United have offered Barcelona £30m plus add-ons to get the midfielder. If that happens, I will be furious. Why? Well, it's always been suggested that Arsenal have first refusal if he leaves Barca. And as good as our midfield is, you can't tell me it wouldn't be better with Cesc in it.

Having said that, our youngsters are looking good aren't they? Pre-season may not be anything to go by, but Gedion Zelalem looks good enough to make a first-team break-though this season. He's a bit like Cesc, I suppose, so don't be surprised if we sit back and do nothing, while other clubs bid for our former skipper. No doubt the club will say: 'We don't want to block the progress of Zelalem, so we decided not to bid for Cesc', or something like that.

Given that we only finished fourth, our lack of transfer activity is quite shocking. While I'm glad to see that chief executive (and newly appointed chairman of the F.A. international committee) Ivan Gazidis seems to be enjoying the tour of Asia, it would be even more gratifying if he and his transfer team-mates (Dick Law and David Miles) could bring in 'a big catch'. There are no bigger fish that Cesc, as far as I'm concerned. That would be the 'catch of the century' (see, I'm resorting to cricket terms in these uninspiring times!) and it would certainly 'bowl' me over!