Almunia shock, Giroud hope & Twitter twits do their worst

So we know now that Chelsea is where Eden Hazard will be plying his trade next season thanks to Twitter. I blame Lille’s loanee from Liverpool, Joe Cole. He was a teammate of Hazard's until this move. I'm sure Joe waxed lyrical about Chelsea and that prompted Eden to choose blue in a £30m(?) switch. But the red of London was never an option it seems. Were we ever the mystery club that was also in the running to sign the Belgium international? Sadly, we'll probably never know.

We have, of course, missed out in the past to Chelsea when it comes to signing long-term transfer targets. Didier Drogba comes to mind, as does Petr Cech. Concerning the latter, Sky Sports are showing his impressive statistics in the Premier League. It makes for interesting reading. Cech has the best average number of minutes between conceding goals in the top flight of English football. No surprises there. Pepe Reina is in second. Again, nothing shocking about that. Jens Lehmann and David Seaman also figure in this league of top goalkeepers. Once again, no eyebrows raised. However, sneaking into that elite of elites is a certain Manuel Almunia, with an impressive 99 minutes on average between each goal conceded. I suppose he has to thank the defence in front of them, nevertheless, statistics like that will enhance his prospects of getting another club at the top level, possibly.

Meanwhile, there is some good news on the transfer front perhaps with the news that Louis Nicollin, the Montpellier president has confirmed that supposed Arsenal transfer targets Olivier Giroud and Mapou Yanga-Mbiwa are both for sale if the price is right. Giroud has a clause in his contract allowing him to leave the French club if a certain amount is received, while Mapou has been promised he can leave ‘if there was a good offer’. Nicollin told the TV show Stade 2 of the above, so it must be true unless something was lost in ESPN's translation.

Athletic Bilbao’s Fernando Llorente is another remote possibility on the transfer front, according to the Daily Mail. The 27-year-old Spain international striker will cost £28 million, apparently, because that is the amount specified in his buyout clause. As we all know, Arsenal are very unlikely to pay such a sum. The fact that that 'The Lion King' scored twice against Manchester United in the Europa League last season makes him sound an attractive proposition. But sorry, it is not going to happen no matter what anyone says on Twitter.

Arsenal's worst-kept secret revealed

Arsenal's worst-kept secret is now public knowledge: Manuel Almunia is leaving on a free transfer. The official Arsenal FC website has revealed the news, and so the next question is: will there be many takers? I can't imagine 'the Spanish waiter' (as some people call him) getting a Premier League club, and my guess is he'll have to drop down a division if he stays in England or moves to one of Europe's top leagues (Spain, Italy and Germany, in case you're wondering).

The biggest mystery to me is why Lucasz Fabianski hasn't joined Almunia on the Arsenal scrapheap, if his contract has also expired. Anyway, also leaving with our best wishes are Gavin Hoyte and George Brislen-Hall amongst others. Those two will get clubs easily enough, but might have to drop down two divisions. Striker Rhys Murphy, goalkeeper Sean McDermott, versatile defender/midfielder James Campbell and winger Jeffrey Monakana are also looking for a new club.

Meanwhile, talking of players on the move, Ryo Miyaichi could be returning to Bolton next season. The Bolton News are running with that story and who are we to disagree? Bolton should be a good bet for an immediate return to the Premier League and it will be good for Ryo to get experience of being top of the league, albeit in a lower division. Then again, if he's been playing with injuries caused by Premier-League tackling, he can expect a lot worse in the Championship. Not that he'll worry about that. You can't question Ryo's bravery, judging by what I've seen.

Much less likely to happen are two transfer moves involving Arsenal that are being reported in The Week. Toulouse midfielder Etienne Capoue could be on the way in, while Johan Djourou is on his way to Juventus apparently. Can't see either deal happing, personally, but I'm getting sick of people undervaluing Djourou. He had a dodgy season, I won't deny that, but he's had a lot more solid games for Arsenal than Philippe Senderos did when he was with us and he's far more versatile than Big Phil. I can't see Djourou leaving this summer, but if he does go I'll be disappointed as it's always good to have utility players. Especially when your squad is as paper-thin as Arsenal's!

Finally, the bookies have got us as 20/1 outsiders to sign free agent Didier Drogba. I'd love to see 'The Scourge of Arsenal' at Arsenal, but it's not going to happen. The ex-Chelsea striker will be off to China to join former Gunner Nicolas Anelka at Shanghai Shenhua