Kostly buy for Arsenal? Or Suarez?

Just picked up The Metro and they're saying we're going to bid for Greece striker Kostas Mitroglou. Liverpool are also in the race, apparently. Sounds like Championship Manager to me and no more real than a video game app.
Wenger will do his Xmas shopping in the German market, I reckon. He still has a dabble in France and Spain from time to time, so I won't be surprised if a new arrival comes from one of those three countries.
Shopping further afield seems more risky. Ryo still hasn't done enough (although let's hope he puts that right against Spurs in the FA Cup, if selected), Arshavin wasn't accommodated and was probably too outspoken, van Persie lacked loyalty (although other Dutchmen like Bergkamp - a Rioch signing - and Overmars have been a success for Wenger, Luzhny did a job as did Vivas, but the bottom line is nationality or the league a player is playing in make a big difference.
For instance, it's generally difficult for SPL players to make the jump to Premier League level. How many players have we bought from Scotland while Wenger has been in charge? None I can think of. Even the likes of McCarthy, who went to Wigan initially, was never going to join us directly. He would have to prove himself elsewhere in the Premier League first. I'm still not sure he's right for Arsenal, despite how well he's playing.
So there you have it. Le Boss is selective. Don't expect many new arrivals. I'd say two at most, but as I've said all along I'd settle for Suarez!

Not good enough

The simple verdict after the 2-0 home defeat against Chelsea is the team are not good enough.
It hurts me to say it, but Ryo Miyaichi hasn't produced enough. However, it's not necessarily his fault. Playing in front of the still inexperienced Carl Jenkinson is not the best way to get a top performance from the Japan international winger. Jenkinson's a talented trier. He might even become England's number one right back one day. But that won't happen until he's ousted Bacary Sagna from the team. No time soon then.
This policy of playing youth with youth typifies what Arsene Wenger seems to stand for: lack of balance. Fill the midfield with creative midfielders. That will solve all. The only problem is, it doesn't. No Flamini means no result. No Arteta means the same. Those 2 midfielders are the only 2 that offer anything different.
Apart from the wingers, if you call them 'midfielders'. Right now, the pecking order is: 1) Theo, 2) Ox, 3) Gnabry and 4) Ryo.
Now we've been knocked out of the Capital One Cup I expect to see our 4th choice winger exit. Otherwise, he'll have to wait until January to stake a claim in the FA Cup. Ryo may have the patience of a saint, but he needs playing time to develop. He won't get it at Arsenal for a while, so it may be time to move again on loan, or possibly even permanently.
It could have been so different if he'd scored around the 20th minute, when he beat Schwarzer to the ball. As the ball rolled netwards, it was cleared. It may have been a cruel twist of fate: so near and yet so far.

Ryo needs an injury-free spell

Ryo Miyaichi certainly needs an injury-free spell (nothing to do with witchcraft!) if he's going to establish himself at Arsenal.
Already this season, he's been out with a rib injury. Then more recently, he's had ankle problems. The ribs are a one-off, but his ankle issues are recurring and therefore worrying. However, as I've pointed out before, a certain Robin van Persie became a Robin reliant as he put his injury curses behind him. It was a long-haul trip but well worth the wait until he headed off to Old Trafford. Hopefully, Ryo will simply grow stronger and remain a loyal servant to Arsenal. He certainly has the attitude and skill to make it, so let's hope Lady Luck is on his side.

Gnabry new deal signals Ryo departure?

I've always thought that Serge Gnabry's emergence would signal the end for Ryo Miyaichi at Arsenal. Now the 18-year-old German is putting pen to paper on a new deal, so the older winger (I.e. Ryo) may have to take a back seat for much longer, if he wants to stay at the Emirates.
Ryo is undoubtedly the quicker of the two, as he is reportedly the second fastest man at Arsenal (only behind Theo Walcott when it comes to sprinting). But, and here comes the crucial statistic, Gnabry is younger and already a Premier League goalscorer. Not only that, Gnabry has a lower centre of gravity and is hard to knock off the ball. He appears to be more confident that Ryo and, possibly, hungrier to succeed.
Ryo's attitude is commendable and he always seems to put the team first, but he seems to suffer from 'nice guy syndrome': he's a gentleman to a fault. He's happy to celebrate Arsenal's goals from the bench because, in true Japanese fashion, he puts the team before his own interests. When he has a chance to shoot, he'd rather pass to a team-mate. That's why Ryo will only score when there's just one option: to shoot.
Ryo's been conspicuous by his absence lately. He's not even on the bench.
Perhaps he'll get one last chance to stake a claim against Chelsea tonight. It could be make or break for him. Good luck, Ryo!

Podolski/Uchida swap deal on?

Arsenal are going to busy before transfer deadline day. Yes, it's true. We've heard it from the horse's mouth, so to speak. Arsene Wenger has made it clear that much-needed additions will be brought in, but the question is could one of them be Atsuto Uchida of Schalke 04.

There's been plenty of talk suggesting that Lukas Podolski could be heading back to Germany and struggling Schalke are thought to be interested, so my theory is that a swap deal might be set up. However, Wenger has gone on record to say he doesn't want to lose Saturday's two-goal hero. Then again, why would he come out and say that to the media if there was no danger of the striker leaving? Podolski has been used sparingly so far this season and is usually played out of position on the left wing, so it wouldn't be that surprising if he upped and left.

Uchida, meanwhile, would bolster Arsenal's squad defensively. He might not be the tallest, but he would add competition in the right back position, which has been temporarily vacated by the Gunners 'new' centre back Bacary Sagna. It must be said, at this point, that Carl Jenkinson is doing an admirable job there, so it could be argued that Uchida is not needed.

Nevertheless, it is still a matter of conjecture that Uchida will be brought in on loan with Podolski moving in the opposite direction. I asked JSoccerMagazine editor Alan Gibson if there is any truth in this specualtion and he replied: 'I heard similar rumours but nothing concrete.'

I'm sure if Uchida does join Arsenal, Ryo Miyaichi will be pleased. The injured youngster's English is incredibly fluent, but he must miss being able to speak Japanese with team-mates.

One thing's for sure: nothing will happen before Wednesday. Before that, both Arsenal and Schalke have Tuesday night's Champions League qualifiers to contend with. Schalke are in danger of being knocked out by PAOK Thessaloniki, so it's all hands (and feet) to the pumps! Including the-already-cup-tied Uchida, no doubt, who picked up a yellow card in the first leg.

Elsewhere, the media have reported that Mesut Ozil could join Arsenal for £38m, Yohan Cabaye for £17m and Wayne Rooney for £_(insert figure here)million.

Ryo in Arsenal's Champs League squad

Ryo Miyaichi fans will be pleased to see that Arsenal have included him in their Champions League squad. The only caveat is his rib injury which, according to Wenger, will keep him out of action until 19th August.

I was thinking yesterday about difficult it is to get over a rib injury. I broke a couple of ribs once and it took at least 4 weeks to get over it. Even then, I could still feel pain. In fact, my doctor told me it would take around 6 weeks for my ribs to heal up. Therefore, I reckon we won't see Ryo in action until around 19th September. Let's hope Arsenal are still involved in the Champions League by then, as it's not a forgone conclusion with Fenerbache standing in the way.

Could Theo's loss be Ryo's gain? Erm, no

Ryo Miyaichi is such a team-player that he is unlikely to be pleased to hear that a fellow Arsenal winger is injured. Nevertheless, the news that Theo Walcott pulled up in training yesterday, while on England duty, may have some Ryo fans on tenterhooks thinking: will Ryo actually get a chance to play for Arsenal's first-team in the league?

However, I would advise against any optimism that Ryo fans may have of glimpsing their idol in full-bloodied action. Firstly, Theo's ankle injury he sustained is unlikely to keep him out of action, so the chances of 'a fit Ryo' (whatever that is!) stepping in for the first game of the season against Aston Villa are more than remote.

Secondly, (surprise, surprise!) Ryo is injured: he is nursing a rib injury, sustained in Arsenal's pre-season friendly against Nagoya Grampus. The 20-year-old was so desperate to be involved that he hid the injury from the club's medical staff. While we may laud the youngster's bravery, some may feel it borders on stupidity if it means an extended period on the sidelines.

After the Urawa Reds game, I did say I thought Ryo performed significantly worse than he did against Nagoya. Clearly, we know why now. Ryo was playing through the pain barrier. Post-match, manager Arsene Wenger praised Ryo's performance, saying it was an improvement on the Nagoya game. As I've already mentioned, I completely disagree with that assessment. And now Ryo will be out until around 19th August. Match-fitness is even further away. The only game I'd pencil him in for (albeit with a broken lead) would be the Capital One Cup in late September. I know that sounds cruel, but I think that's more realistic than expecting Premiership action for Ryo.

Anyway, the upshot of him playing through the pain barrier is he will have to endure the pain of disappointment. He'll probably be on the sidelines again versus Villa: not even on the bench. Although he's effectively moved up the pecking order since the sale of Gervinho to Roma, he may well have slipped down behind Serge Gnabre, who managed to stay fit throughout the pre-season.

It's really time for Ryo to grasp the nettle . . . but only if he can do so without stinging himself!

Arsenal's Higuain deal hijacked? Ryo not off to Feyenoord, yet!

Don't shoot the messenger. It hasn't happened yet. But Arsenal's protracted signing of Gonzalo Higuain could hit the buffers, in my opinion, if a certain other London club come in and offer him better terms. I don't think Spurs will do that, but Chelsea are certainly capable of it, financially, especially now that they've been outbid by PSG for Cavani. We need to get this Higuain deal done a.s.a.p., but Arsenal don't do 'asap', unless the 's' stands for 'slowly'.

Maybe we're waiting to offload Park, Campbell and Bentdner before we sign Higuain so we can save on wages. Bendtner is inching ever nearer Frankfurt, we hear. He'll probably be loaned out. Surely one of those 'six' interested clubs can put a deal together. Obviously, German clubs are keen to take our players on loan: Djourou's got a German club for next season as has Coquelin. So while Djourou's going to Hamburg for the entire season, 'Coq-au-vin' will be out in Freiburg.

Mannone was quick to get a club, wasn't he? I wish him the best of luck at Sunderland. Not sure they'll do well under di Canio, but I think our ex-keeper will do his bit (if given the chance) to help them stay up. Surely, his exit means Cesar's arrival. It's been much heralded, but the trumpeters are sick of tooting the same tune! Bring Cesar in, Arsenal! Stop faffing around!

Another player we've been linked with and lost, it seems is Tin Jedvaj. With a name like that, he's got to be good...for a laugh. Let's hope Spurs are not getting the last laugh, if they sign him for £6.5m, as has been reported. They've already signed Paulinho, who had a decent Confederations Cup tournament, so might be a good acquisition.

One player who wasn't a good acquisition was Park Ju Young. It looks like Celta Vigo won't be having our former number 9 back, which isn't surprising given he went AWOL at the end of last season. He won't be doing that for 4 weeks, as he's doing some obligatory military service. If only the South Korean Army would pick up the bill for his wages, we'd be in an even better financial position to sign someone.

But no. I have more exits to report . . .

Ryo Miyaichi. Don't worry, folks! I don't believe he's leaving. Not yet, anyway. Wenger's been waxing lyrical about Ryo's attitude pre-season. If he impresses in Japan, I reckon we'll keep him. If he doesn't, that's when I'll take the Feyenoord link seriously. Of course, they want him back, especially as they have a sudden wideman shortage: Boertius has a serious knee injury and Sekou Cisse could be leaving. Nevertheless, Ryo's not their first-choice replacement for the pair. The Dutch side want Liverpool's Oussama Assaidi. The problem is the Reds won't loan Assaidi out, they'd rather do a permanent deal.




And that's where we come in! Well, only if Ryo is up for grabs on loan and right now he's not! He's even been pictured on the official Arsenal.com website with Fabianski. So unless we're flogging the pair, two-for-one, it's as Hall & Oates would sing: 'Say No Go'.

Meanwhile, that very player, Sonogo has a number 22 shirt to go with his ready-made song. His arrival could mean curtains for Joel Campbell, though. The Costa Rican striker is unlikely to rejoin Real Betis, apparently, so the media are linking him with Crystal Palace and West Ham. The question is how will our London rivals get Campbell a work permit if we couldn't manage it? I'll leave the media to ponder that, as clearly they haven't thought it through.

Talking of shirts, Diaby takes the number 24. Finally, a sensible number. Let's hope he plays more sensibly, and manages to string a few decent games together for a change now.

Despite my lack of faith in him, Diaby's staying at Arsenal, of course unlike Emmanuel Frimpong,who could be on his way to Fulham. Then there's Gervinho off to Marseilles and Chamakh to Levante.

And Wenger to PSG. Next year. I don't believe it, personally, but Le10Sport are reporting it, so it must be 'vrai'!

Ryo's rising to the top

According to Arsenal boss Arsene Wenger, Ryo has got what it takes to rise to the top.

Speaking to Arsenal Player, Wenger said: 'I have great hopes for Ryo because he has traditional Japanese qualities. Japanese players technically have a very good touch, they are mobile, agile, a bit lightweight but they move well. It's usually a player that has a great attitude towards the team.

'Ryo has a fantastic attitude for sure. He has just come out of rehab after a big knee injury, and the physics have told me that they have never known an attitude like it. So he has those qualities, and as well he is tricky, has great pace, and works very hard.

'He has to learn to become mature tactically - shrewd tactically - but all the rest, he has.'

Wenger's quotes back up what I've been saying for a while: Ryo has an amazing attitude and work ethic. He's had his injury problems, but in time I expect Ryo to be a success. The only problem is, I'm not sure it will be at Arsenal.

I wonder if Wenger will use Arsenal's trip to Japan as a scouting mission. If Kubo keeps knocking the goals in for Kyoto, maybe he'll raid the J2 club. Who knows? It could be someone else who catches the Frenchman's eye.

Clearly, Wenger is impressed with Japanese players, so will be watching JSoccerMagazine's reports on young talent with interest!

Crocked Ryo's out for the season

Japan international winger Ryo Miyaichi is almost certain to miss Wigan's FA Cup semi-final showdown with Millwall, with some sources claiming he will miss the remainder of the season.

Ryo sustained an injury in the same competition, in the Latics' victory at Everton; but he will be keen to play Millwall: a team he scored against last season, while on loan at Bolton.

Meanwhile, Roberto Martinez is already planning to keep Ryo next season. The Wigan boss said: “We will have to speak with Arsenal and we need to assess and make sure they are happy with the progression of the player.

“Ryo is a footballer that we really admire and has an incredible future in front of him so if we could work with him for a longer period we would be very happy to do that.”

Arsenal in for Ganso, Neymar, Cazorla or M'Vila? Henderson goes to Hollywood!

This time ,"Hello again Gooners" is changed to "Hello again doing this" by Dragon's voice-recognition software. So it is improving. Well done Dragon!

Talking of dragons, the first-team squad are bound to see a lot of them out in the Far East as we look forward to games against a Malaysia XI (24 July, 2:45 PM on ESPN), Manchester City (27th of July, 1 PM on ESPN) and Kitchee (or "kitschy", according to Dragon). The latter game kicks off at 10 AM on 29 July. And the final pre-season friendly is against Cologne away from home on 12 August, kicking off at 4 PM. It will also be televised "live" on ESPN. That game takes place just six days before our opening fixture of the season at home to Sunderland on 18 August. Sadly that won't be televised. I say sadly because I won't be at the Emirates to see that game. But I'm determined to see it "live" somehow. In the worst-case scenario, I will watch it one or two days later on Arsenal Player. There won't be so bad if Stewart Robson is summarising.

Anyway, being the impatient type of person that I am, it was impossible for me to wait that long to watch Arsenal in action, so I took myself to Boreham Wood FC. It was not my first visit, but it was my first trip by train to the place made famous by Elstree Studios. Plaques of Cliff Richard, Christopher Lee and Barbara Windsor punctuated my walk from Elstree station to Meadow Park, but little did I know I would be entertained by some of the best "Hollywood balls" I've seen at this level of the game. Just to make myself clear here, by "Hollywood balls" I mean the kind of raking passes that we at Arsenal usually associate with the likes of former Gunners superstar Liam Brady. In fact, a lot of young players attempt these "Hollywood balls" and fail miserably because they try them at inappropriate moments in that only indicates a lack of skill. That's why sometimes or should I say often I complain about players trying to play these kind of passes. But Conor Henderson was not guilty of this. Henderson was by far the best player on the pitch in the first half and based on this display he should be playing first team football. The Ireland under 21 international midfielder is approaching his 21st birthday and if Arsene Wenger has no intention of playing Henderson in the Arsenal first-team then he should loan him out. Just like Liam Brady, Henderson has a magic wand of a left foot. He may not possess Brady's dribbling skills, but he has a good engine and I anticipate a very bright future for this young prodigy.

The other player worth an honourable mention was playing for Boreham Wood. Left winger Graeme Montgomery really impressed me throughout. The former Dagenham and Redbridge midfielder setup Omer Riza's opening goal, which put Arsenal one behind. The 24-year-old would have to be man-of-the-match as he shone in both halves. At his age, it will be difficult for Montgomery to ever play Premier league football, but he deserves a chance to play at a much higher level, that's for sure.

So who in the Arsenal XI also deserves more recognition? Once again, the goalkeepers impressed. Damien Martinez is may have conceded a goal, but aside from that the 19-year-old Argentinian put on an excellent display.

Similarly, his second-half replacement James Shea didn't put a foot wrong. No wonder he's been involved with the England squad and I'm expecting big things from the 21-year-old. One of the good things about Shea is he commands his penalty area. Like goalkeeping coach Tony Roberts from the sidelines, Shea is very vocal. In stark contrast, the rest of the Arsenal team was silent throughout.

So who else impressed? Chuba Akpom was fouled for the first penalty and scored the second, so he made a reasonably good impression. He did get nagged for his positional play, so at this stage am not sure how well he will fit in with this Arsenal reserve team.

Kristoffer Olsson belied his tender years with a superb finish after an individual run into the box. The 17-year-old Swedish midfielder certainly looks to be a bright prospect. As does Hector Bellerin. We didn't see much of the Spanish right back, but to be a poet and not know it he looks as sharp as a tack. The only other player who impressed me in the Arsenal line-up was Martin Angha, who looks remarkably like Neymar of Brazil and Santos, which brings me nicely on to the transfer news.

Neymar was incredibly impressive on Friday night playing for the Brazil Olympic side against Great Britain. Why oh why can't we sign somebody is good as Neymar? I know the answer and I think we all do. Money. Neymar is 20-years-old and already has 18 caps for Brazil and nine goals. What a great investment he would be! Unfortunately, big business has beaten us to it with third-parties already buying up 45% of his rights for around €14 million. Just to break even on their investment, these third parties are going to demand a €28 million transfer fee for him. To double their money, they will want €56 million. That kind of prices us out of the market, doesn't it?

Paulo Henrique Ganso should be a lot cheaper, although the 22-year-old has a €50 million buyout clause in his contract. Nonetheless, he is expected to join ourselves, Manchester United or Spurs. Tottenham may have a lot of money to spend when Luca Modric makes his move elsewhere.

Apparently, were much more likely to sign Santi Cazorla from Malaga. The Spanish club have a lot of money but allegedly they have not been paying their players or the taxman on time, according to well respected Spain-based journalist Graham Hunter. So could the 27-year-old winger be on the way to Arsenal? I'm not sure Arsene Wenger would like another repeat of the Jose Antonio Reyes situation. That diminutive but skilful wide man found it difficult to adjust to the violence of the Premier League and perhaps Cazorla would have similar difficulties. However, Reyes was much younger and much more inexperienced when he joined us and than Cazorla is now, so finger may decide it's worth the gamble.

Yann M'Vila, meanwhile, is on somebody's shopping list. Rennes are reporting that negotiations are ongoing regarding the defensive midfielder's transfer. We should find out soon whether Arsenal's reported interest is genuine. Given that Jack Wilshire will be out until September or October or possibly even later than that with his ankle and knee problems and that Thomas Rosicky will be out for six weeks with a heel problem, it makes perfect sense to bring in an experienced midfielder.

It could be argued we also need a right back, as Bacari Sagna will probably not be fit enough to start the season. However, he is expected to return to the first-team at the end of August.

We will also be one striker lighter, as Nicklas Bendtner is expected to complete a £7.5 million move to either AC Milan or Galatasaray. That money could be useful to provide additional transfer funds for Arsene Wenger.

I don't expect there will be much more money in the pot following the news that Ryo Miyaichi will probably go to Bolton on another year's loan now that Ajax have pulled out of the running to sign him. I would have liked Miyaichi to spend some time in the company of former Arsenal superstar Marc Overmars, who could teach the youngster a thing or two about wing play. However, I'm not sure how much input Overmars has on the training ground, so maybe Ryo hasn't missed out after all.

Anyway, that's all for now. Until the next time, "Up the Gooners!"

Bendtner Mark II is on form before Arsenal switch?

After a play-off weekend, it was always likely that we would be talking about one of the star players on show. Given at Crewe Alexandra's record of producing good young players, it is no surprise that Arsenal and Manchester United are being linked with matchwinner Nick Powell.

The teenage midfielder will not be 19 until March, yet as already clocked up over 50 games in the league for Crewe scoring 14 goals in scoring 14 goals in the process. His goal for Crewe in the League Two play-off final opened the scoring and showcased what looks like a prodigious talent: a good first touch with his right foot to set up a volley with his weaker left foot.

There has been transfer speculation linking the England Under 18 international with a move to Arsenal for more than two years. His performance at Wembley indicates that he is certainly one for the future, but whether it will be at Arsenal remains to be seen.

Meanwhile, another so-called long-term Arsenal transfer target Mohamed Diamé is also being linked with a move to the Emirates Stadium. The 24-year-old Wigan defensive midfielder is, apparently, in London looking for a new club now that his contract is about to expire. I think he would make a good squad player but I'm not sure Arsenal will be prepared to offer him regular first-team football, and that's why I think he is more likely to choose another London club like Fulham, for example.

Another 24-year-old midfielder who could be joining us, according to the Daily Mail, is Odil Ahmedov of the Russian league. He is currently playing for Anzhi Makhachkala, who are interested in signing Robin van Persie. The way this story is going the next thing I expect to see in the newspapers is Anzhi conclude sensational swap deal with Arsenal, with the Uzbekistan International joining us and our Dutch talisman leaving us with our bank balance in super surplus again! Not really! But I thought I should put my thoughts into writing in case it does happen, in which case I will say "you heard it here first". The good thing about Ahmedov is he has been quoted as saying the following: "I want to try in England or Spain. Clearly all the clubs in Spain and England are wonderful, but I would like, if I had the choice, to play at Arsenal."

The same newspaper is suggesting that Robin van Persie is almost certain to leave. An unnamed Arsenal source said: "Arsenal know it's not about money even if they offered them personally what [Man] City can pay it would make no difference if he doesn't believe the club can challenge the trophies."

Arsene Wenger, meanwhile, remains convinced that van Persie will stay. He told Fox Soccer: "I am confident you will see Robin van Persie in the Premier league and I'm very confident you will see him and red and white." The problem I have with that comment is Manchester United also play in red and white! Surely we will not sell our best player to the team that finished just one spot above us in the league! However, stranger things have happened in football so the unexpected never really surprises me.

One striker we want be so sad to lose is Nicklas Bendtner. It sounds like our Great Dane already has a number of options on the table. He is quoted on Sky Sports as saying: "Yes, I have talked to other clubs. I have told all the clubs that I want to wait until after Euro 2012. We have got plenty of time to sort out the future." It seems that German champions Borussia Dortmund are very interested in signing the 24-year-old Denmark international striker. I know he has a reputation of being a bit of the bighead, to say the least, but I'm still not sure that he want become a big star one day. He's never going to be a Thierry Henry, yet he still offers an aerial threat in a similar way to Andy Carroll at Liverpool. If Super Nick returns to Arsenal, I for one will not be disappointed as I think the best is yet to come.

Finally, there's an interesting article on Jeorge Bird’s Arsenal Youth website which questions the club's policy of signing non-EU youngsters and then loaning them out to get a work permit elsewhere. Without stealing his thunder and going through the article in detail, I will say he mentions Carlos Vela, Pedro Botelho (who is on his fifth loan spell in Spain now), Bolivian international Samuel Galindo, Ryo Miyaichi and fractured-leg victim Wellington. It's well worth the read so I suggest you have a look for yourself.

Just before I go, I'd like to mention that I saw Arsenal transfer target Olivier Giroud play for France against Iceland as a substitute. He certainly made a difference setting up two goals which turned a certain defeat into a not particularly well deserved victory. Based on what I saw, I'd say Giroud is not blessed with blistering pace, but he's good in the air and has a deft touch on the ground. A bit like Nicklas Bendtner!

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

Cesc/Lorient/Hill-Wood/Ryo all on Arsenal's news radar

Taking a look at the news today, London 24 are running a story about Cesc Fabregas, who has a bit to say about Robin van Persie. It is not particularly interesting unless you read between the lines. I did and I have reached the following conclusions: 1) Cesc is an Arsenal fan, and 2) he think it may be a while before Robin lifts a trophy. However, we cannot complain because it is all said so diplomatically.

Meanhwhile, the Bleacher Report is saying that our relationship with Lorient is ideal. We’ll see when Joel Campbell gets back! Four goals in 25 games doesn’t sound that promising for a striker! Meanwhile, it’s true that Francis Coquelin seems to have benefited from the experience he got there, but the jury’s still out on Gilles Sunu.

The best story I’ve read in a while appears on Gooner Talk. Whatever your view on Arsenal chairman Peter Hill-Wood, you have to read this. And try not sing Kanye West’s ‘Golddigger’  to the chairman next time you see him! If the article is completely true, it just verifies what I’ve thought for some time: the current board are more into feathering their nest than anything else. Until we get David Dein back the wait for trophies may well continue. I don’t want to say too much more in case I get bumped off! Yes, you could say it makes for grim reading!

That’s enough talk about the board for now. So what about the players.  Our players, I mean. For a change there is an excellent report of Ryo Miyaichi on The Marble Halls. It confirms what I’ve said before, Ryo has got a long way to go if he wants to make it at Arsenal.

Miyaichi is no Henry!

Of course, I want Ryo Miyaichi to become a legend at Arsenal. I have some very strong Japanese connections, so I’d love to see players from ‘the Land of the Rising Sun’ succeed in the UK. But we do tend to get carried away by good goals in this day and age, when few have enough time to attend games. In short, judgements are made from highlights and, based on that, you’d have to say Miyaichi’s goal for Bolton at Millwall in the FA Cup fifth round was reminiscent of the great Thierry Henry.

Miyaichi left a sleepy Millwall defence for dead and curled his shot around the keeper to score his first goal in English football. I felt very excited for him and thought he would now go on to give the Millwall defence a torrid time.

However, the talented teenager struggled to make a significant impact thereafter. He was hauled off late in the second half after enduring a heavy challenge from Alan Dunne and replaced by Chris Eagles. It was a decent enough display from Miyaichi, but does he really look like the new Henry?

I asked my dad, who attended the game with me. He should know a few things about wingers, being an ex-professional wideman (no pun intended) himself, playing in all four divisions throughout his career.

So what was his view of Miyaichi? My dad’s damning verdict was: ‘He’s got pace but he won’t make it in the Premier League. Ryo’s got some ability but Arsene Wenger hasn’t got a good track record when it comes to developing wingers. Look at Theo Walcott. That boy’s got a lot of latent talent, but has he improved much since arriving at Arsenal? I don’t think so.’

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!

Analysis of Ryo Miyaichi's Arsenal debut

Sorry, I'm playing a bit of catch-up or should I say 'Ozyakup' when it comes to Arsenal's last 3 games. You see, I've been in Stan Kroenke country as opposed to Kroenke state, so I've not seen the Colorado Rapids unfortunately. Neither have I seen David Beckham's LA Galaxy. Not the team, not the merchandise. Indeed, the lack of column inches and shop shelf space devoted to soccer in the America is astounding. I have no doubt the world's greatest game will end up dominating there too, eventually. Of course, the influx of football-crazy Hispanics will ensure that, no matter what the status quo try to do to avert the oncoming tide of soccer they will end up looking wet and bedraggled if they try to halt progress . . . like a certain English-based Danish king did years ago. A certain King Canute or Cnut, as some prefer. It's been pointed out by Ian McEwan in 'Atonement' how similar Cnut is to another four-letter word, but I'm not a Booker Prize nominee so I'd better stick to Arsenal's three-letter word or name: Ryo.

Miyaichi's first game in English football came against Shrewsbury Town in the Carling Cup, while I was away in the land of anti-soccer media Cnuts, so it's thanks to Arsenal Player on the official website that I've been able to pore over his every touch.

Ryo had to be patient and wait until the 72nd minute to make his entrance. Arsenal were winning 2-1 at the time, so it was a reasonably good time to come on. Replacing the largely ineffective South Korean striker Ju Young Park also meant Ryo didn't have such a tough act to follow.

Ryo showed he meant business with a foray deep into Shrewsbury territory within 3 minutes. Three opponents tried to close him down and rather than take them all on, Ryo sensibly passed to Yossi Benayoun. Another simple pass followed shortly afterwards, as Ryo quickly seemed to settle into the game.

Then Ryo's debut took a turn for the worst. Miyaichi was guilty of a sudden loss of concentration as he let a pass squirm under his feet and into touch. Ryo's next run was blocked, but luckily the ball fell to a fellow substitute in the shape of Gokhan Ozyakup.

Ryo's reaction to these minor setbacks was mature, despite his relative youth. The 18-year-old played a couple of simple passes successfully and ended the game with his first successful tackle in an Arsenal shirt, albeit with the aid of the impressive Francis Coquelin.

All in all, not a bad night's work for Ryo Miyaichi. Let's hope he gets more of a chance to shine again Bolton in the next round.

So what about Ryo's team-mates? How did they do?

GK: Fabianski 4 - hapless as ever, how he allowed the ball to hit the post early on, I'll never know. Should have narrowed the angle for the Shrews' goal. Couldn't dominate his imaginary one-yard box, let alone his six-yard box, as evidenced when he failed to deal with a cross he should have easily caught.

RB: Jenkinson 5 - some good passing and crossing but some poor defending at times. Can we blame zonal marking for his failure to move to a man after a setpiece was lifted towards the backpost? No. Zonal doesn't mean you have to be static.

CB: Djourou 5 - His JD initial stands for 'Jittery Defender' right now. I still have faith our captain for the night will put the jitters behind him eventually.

CB: Miquel 6 - quietly effective and read the game well. A great prospect.

LB: Gibbs 6 - a torrid start turned into a goal and a reasonable game.

RW: Oxlade-Chamberlain 8 - the son of Mark was awesome, need I say more? He's not better than Theo Walcott at crossing, on this evidence, but his decision-making is better. He's got football in his blood and it shows.

CM: Coquelin 8 - his passing has come on a bundle. He's always been good at breaking play up, but he's got more to his game now.

CM: Frimpong 6 - a raging bull in a china shop comes to mind when I see Frimpong going through his paces. But I love his never-say-die attitude. He's a real trier, but this wasn't one of his nights.

LM: Benayoun 6 - largely disappointing, despite his goal. He just didn't contribute that much.

ST: Park 5 - blew hot and cold, mostly cold. He's a bit of an enigma, as I'm not sure how he's going to fit into the team. Maybe he just needs time to adjust.

ST: Chamakh 7 - looked like he might score again! He's much more confident now and worked hard.

SUBS: Miyaichi 6 - did reasonably well on his debut.
Ozyakup 7 - set up a goal and settled quickly.
Aneke N/A - not enough time to make an impact.