All or Nothing: Arsenal episode 5

I found this a little disappointing compared to episode 4. I'm not sure why, as it was still riveting viewing.

In this one, Auba is finally out of the door, breaking club rules again as he arrives in Barcelona ahead of a deal that only goes through at literally the eleventh hour.

Arteta comes out of it as a dignified leader, and Edu is a realist, telling Barca that they're living in 'Disneyland' if they're trying to tell him that Auba is simply in the city to see his family. Apparently, Auba should have been training alone at Arsenal, at the time.

Another thing that's come out of this for me is Lacazette, an unsung hero. During the January goal drought, it was the Frenchman who set up Gabriel for the only goal at Wolves.

In the previous episode, I felt Laca's contribution was underplayed. I'm not sure why. It was like he was being airbrushed out of history to some extent, a bit like Sead Kolacinac, who is on screen for the briefest of moments: blink and you miss it. Then, he's gone, leaving the club during the winter transfer window.

Granit Xhaka made me laugh, though, when he was trying to get Saka to say 'thank you' to him. It was about another silly red card that the Switzerland international picked up. It was a reckless challenge and he had to walk for it. In the end, Xhaka accepted the blame, but it was a lighthearted moment and made me realize why Granit is loved by his teammates: the guy is real character.

I do worry that Granit never learns, especially after the silly opening day yellow card against Palace. A lot of fans are trying to say he didn't deserve to be booked, but we all know fake diving always get carded, so where's the controversy?

One thing Arsenal fans will be more sure of, after watching this episode, is how much Granit cares about the club. The viewers can see what a lovely family he has too and surely appreciate him more, especially if he can stop getting sent off.

On that note, I felt sorry for Martinelli, who picked up two soft yellows in this episode. The truth is: justice is often harsh on Arsenal, but maybe that develops a siege mentality that makes the club stronger. Like George Graham before him, Arteta seems to thrive on that.

Therefore, despite the setbacks, only a fool would back against Arsenal reaching the heights of yesteryear again, even though this episode saw a massive clear-out of players.

It appears the club policy now is to do a lot of business in the summer and leave the winter window alone in regard to new signings. They see winter signings as an admission of summer failure. I never thought of it like that before, but I can understand their reasoning.

I think the next episode is going to painful, but entertaining, no doubt.

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!

Victor would solve Arsenal's keeping 'crisis'

Crisis, what crisis? That's how some people may feel about Arsenal's goalkeeping situation.

Both of our Polish internationals had strong ends to last seasons, but one swallow does not make a summer. Well, let me rephrase that: two 'swallows' helped us to get to fourth place, and turn an unmitigated disaster into something more palatable: yet another St Totteringham's Day and Champions League qualification.

Nevertheless, let's not think the problem has gone away. We still need to strengthen our goalkeeping department.

Barcelona's Victor Valdes wants a new challenge. Let's give it to him! He's only 31, which is young in keeping terms.

If we can't get, let's try Victor of Atletico Mineiro. The Brazilian international is slightly younger and is magnificent form.

Let's hope we don't keep our powder dry on the transfer front as we have in the past!

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.

Szczeny mustn't let his popularity slip through his fingers

Szczeny's comments about possibly leaving for Barcelona one day seem ill-timed to me.

Okay, I know he's probably only responding to a media question but in the wake of a defeat by Spurs, I don't want to hear this kind of thing right now.

Despite his mistake, Szczeny's our most in-form player, but he really should refrain from talking about transfers elsewhere. Otherwise he'll be in danger of losing the popularity he's gained so quickly.

Szczeny mustn't let it slip through his fingers like (dare I say it) a certain swerving long-range shot.