Top ten most exciting Arsenal arrivals

The lack of new arrivals at Arsenal this summer has prompted me to go back in time and think of signings that excited me, back in the days when we spent money.

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ARSENAL F.C. - A FOOTBALL TRANSFER DIARY 1996/1997 - Wenger's era begins [Paperback]

Top 10 most exciting signings:

1. Malcolm Macdonald - until he arrived at Arsenal, I was not a big fan of the gobby Supermac. But he could put his goal scoring boots where his mouth was, so I knew he'd score loads for us. It's a shame injury blighted his career, as he really was a proper centre forward.

2. Ian Wright - as with Supermac, I knew Wrighty would score loads for us. I'm not sure I could see him breaking Cliff Bastin's goalscoring record though. He turned out to be even better than expected.

3. Alan Ball - in my opinion, he was England's best player in the World Cup final of 1966 and what a signing he would be! Actually, not quite as good as I expected, but he was my hero when I was a kid nonetheless. He did the simple things well: the hallmark of an intelligent player. I was upset when he left.

4. Andrey Arshavin - it took so long to get the Russian genius, who took Rangers apart in the UEFA Cup final, I thought it would be worth the wait. Well, if he'd been played in the right position and had more opportunities to play, it might have been. His big mistake was to go public about Wenger's penchant for 70th-minute substitutions. Arshavin wasn't even bench-worthy in the manager's eyes after that little outburst. His 4-goal salvo at Anfield is a reminder of what could have been.

5. Marc Overmars - the Holland international winger was bound to be a success and he certainly didn't disappoint. It was such a shame when we sold him.

6. Dennis Bergkamp - a player of undoubted ability, but the question was would he adjust to the English game?
He'd had a tough time in Italy, so I wasn't sure. After seeing him play for Arsenal, I was instantly a Bergkamp fan, but the media were scathing about him in his early days. Once he completely found his feet, he never looked back. His only problem was missing European away days because of his fear of flying.

7. Thierry Henry - like Bergkamp, he'd not done as well in Italy as expected. Could we rescue his career? I thought so. I anticipated him turning on for us on the wing, not becoming a prolific goalscorer and beating Wrighty's record. Better than even I expected!

8. Pat Jennings - I couldn't believe we'd signed the world's best keeper so cheaply. This guy could catch the ball with one hand! He's more associated with Spurs than us, but their loss was certainly our gain. Although he was ageing, he oozed confidence and was a real asset. He was also better than expected.

9. David Seaman - a lot younger than Jennings, here we were getting a top keeper at the peak of his powers. I've always said a top keeper is a priority if you want to win silverware and Seaman certainly did his bit for us in that respect!

10. Brian Talbot - the midfield dynamo had been one of Ipswich's stars when they unexpected beat us in the FA Cup final of 1978. Funnily enough, I met the only goalscorer, Roger Osborne, and told him he ruined my life! Poor bloke didn't know what to say! Anyway, we had the last laugh, getting Talbot. I always like taking players from teams that comprehensively beat us! Talbot was tireless and a real asset to the team.

This top ten was hastily put together, so if you can come up with anything better, please post it below.

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Will Wenger's wallet remain zipped up this summer, despite Goetze & Cavani talk?

The promising form of the late (which I predicted!), putting us up to third in the league, may make Arsene Wenger loath to open his wallet this summer. I mean, we've all seen how he struggles to open his 'sleeping bag-cum-coaching coat', so why should it be any different with the zipper on the perennially-closed Arsenal purse?

That's not stopped the media from speculating that Mario Goetze and Edinson Cavani will be on the way in to the Emirates with Lukas Podolski on the way out. Podolski, despite all the speculation, could be going somewhere or nowhere. How happy is he? Did he kiss the badge after scoring against Norwich? I don't think so. Maybe he could be offski. I hope not, but it's possible.

Meanwhile, despite his goals, some people doubt that Olivier Giroud is good enough. I still say 'yes, he is', but it was interesting that the players congratulated 'The Ox' for setting up the second goal rather than Olivier, who was claiming it (rather like Malcolm 'Supermac' MacDonald of old). You've got to love Giroud!

Anyway, it's a tough test next. Everton at home next, talk about 'squeaky bum time'!

Could Arsenal's Miyaichi be another SuperMac?

The news that Ryo Miyaichi is injured again comes as no surprise to me. My first observation of him made me worry about his ability to remain injury-free.

'He's a bit bow-legged' I commented at the time. 'That's going to put a lot of strain on his legs and I reckon he'll be in sick bay more than on the pitch'.

Of course, I desperately want to be wrong. Ryo has a super work ethic and magical ball control as well as blistering pace.

But now he won't be playing for 4-6 weeks due to his latest injury setback, an ankle problem.

Let's not forget our most potent weapon, Robin van Persie, is also slightly bow-legged. Hopefully, he's got over his injury problems of the past.

And the most bow-legged player I've ever seen, Malcolm 'SuperMac' MacDonald became a bit of a legend at Highbury, despite only playing 84 games for Arsenal. SuperMac's knee gave out after a couple of seasons and cut his stay at Arsenal short.

So keep your fingers and legs crossed that Ryo stays injury-free once he gets over this latest setback!