There is no reason as to why his performances should dip. As soon as you cross those white lines as they say, you should only be thinking only of the opponents in front of you and your next pass

The Emirates cup and Arsene’s press conference can only mean one thing. At last we have our football back. I watched Arsene and Vermaelen talking live as did many, I had a few nerves beforehand for some very strange reason, perhaps I have been having Arsenal withdrawal symptoms which is understandable right?

Arsene faced the very inevitable questions from the press regarding Cesc Fabregas and Barcelona. He would have had plenty of time to anticipate and think of his answers so we didn’t really hear anything that we didn’t already know.

* Cesc is Arsenal captain
* We want to keep our best players
* Cesc is on a long term contract
* We don’t want to sell

Arsene wants Cesc to remain professional and give his best on the pitch, because playing well can only benefit the player.

Wenger said:

“I always said Cesc Fabregas will be our captain next year and that we want to keep him. Despite all the speculation last season and the whole summer, nothing has changed.

“There’s a great attitude and spirit inside the squad and Cesc Fabregas can help us achieve these targets. He’s now at a good age, 23-years-old, and he has just won the World Cup. I believe he will grow in authority again for next season. The biggest achievement for him now is to help us win the title.

“I have known players who want to leave and then after they don’t want to leave any more. There are all kinds of situations but I believe what happens after is that when a player stays it is about how much he focused on playing football.

“It is always in the interests of the player to perform. If he is a champion, he goes on the football pitch and wants to be the best he can. All the rest is a poor excuse for a football player.”

You cannot disagree with that. Regardless of what has happened, which DNA Cesc apparently has running through his veins, where he wants to spend his mornings, afternoon and evenings. He is a professional footballer with a long term contract.

There is no reason as to why his performances should dip. As soon as you cross those white lines as they say, he should only be thinking only of the opponents in front of him and his next pass.

If Barcelona come back with an attractive offer to Arsenal then I am sure Cesc will get his move, in the mean time he needs to knuckle down and concentrate on his team mates, his performances and the season ahead.

Please close this case.

Although the new home grown rule suits us down to the ground and restricts the financially doped clubs, Arsene believes that it is not good for football.

Wenger said:

“When you have already 25 [players in your squad], when you buy a player you know you have 26 and now you have to get rid of one. So you have to integrate in the transfer market when you buy a player how much as well it costs to get rid of a player.

This new system almost feels as if it hasn’t been thought through properly. Having to count how many homegrown players you have then which players are approaching 22 etc just feels very strange to me. Every player in your squad should be equal and not judged on these stupid parameters. At the same time I like the restrictions on the likes of Manchester City, Chelsea and co who now have to think about buying a player and not just collecting Arsenal targets because they are.. erm, Arsenal targets.

I have to tell Arsene to stop reading Arsenal Vision and then passing it off as it is his own. *rolls eyes*

Arsene was talking about the squad being at the start of their cycle and that improvement and development was fully on the menu. I mentioned in yesterdays article that improvements from squad members can be more important that new additions. A successful combination of the two will always be the goal for our club.

Turning our attentions to the Emirates cup this afternoon. We are missing a whole host of first teamers which isn’t great preparation for the manager. Cesc and Van Persie are on holiday after their extended world cup travels, whilst Song, Denilson and Diaby are not quite ready enough to take part today. Nicklas Bendtner will be out for a few weeks due to his groin issue.

Short blog today, but I have things to do before I can sit down and watch my Gunners again.

Back tomorrow.

On Facebook? Why not join the new Facebook group. Just click this link
Click to follow Arsenal Vision on Twitter