Gervinho is indeed correct, we are putting a little too much emotion into the Cesc and Nasri saga. Both players are very good players, one of them world class but as far as I know, many teams have won trophies and been successful without Nasri and Cesc in their set up. We will have to build our team a slightly different way, one that may or not be more productive.

Where on earth to start? It has been a few days since I last caught up with the daily going’s on at Arsenal and typically plenty has happened in that time. I have a text file with part articles for the last few days and putting them all together and finishing it off would make a blog post worthy of a fat, big essay and we don’t want that.

How about condensing this bad boy into tiny little sections? That way I can wipe the slate clean and get back on track. Let’s go with that and see how we get on.

Barcelona in negotiations with Arsenal for Cesc

*Yawn* and really I should leave it at that but I am feeling generous today. Ok, there is nothing to see here, move on. We already know what the situation is so it doesn’t matter how many times Sky Sports scroll the yellow exciting text they have at the bottom of their screen. Barcelona are not Manchester City so money actually means something to them. They want our player for cheap, we want his market value. Not only that but they clearly have more pressing targets. So unless something changes, shut it!

Mr Campbell getting rather big for his boots

All of a sudden Arsenal FC are not good enough for Joel Campbell who’s father and agent had the audacity not to show up for a meeting with Arsenal officials. Clearly they are wanted something better. Perhaps his father thinks that Campbell could slot straight into the Barcelona first team. Good luck with that.

Little annoyed I must say, I was rather warming to the idea of having Campbell at Arsenal but its not to be, plenty more Joel’s in the sea, hopefully some more with a tad more respect.

Gervinho is here with a bang

After three full seasons at Arsenal, Gervinho has finally become an official Arsenal player. Three seasons might be a slight exaggeration but you get the point. A signing is never quite a signing without having pictures up on .com along with the customary interviews. Speaking of which, he has caused quite a stir today, well that is not strictly true. The press have turned his words into a stir. ‘We are better off without Nasri and Cesc’ actually meant we can still be a good team if they choose to leave the club which is very much my thinking.

On the way back from playing football last night, I found myself daydreaming about Jack Wilshere and Aaron Ramsey dominating the league without the help of Cesc Fabregas. I imagined them thundering into tackles and scoring great goals with amazing combinations. Perhaps my dreams are a couple years ahead but it made my train journey back a lot more exciting.

Gervinho is indeed correct, we are putting a little too much emotion into the Cesc and Nasri sagas. Both players are very good players, one of them world class but as far as I know, many teams have won trophies and been successful without Nasri and Cesc in their set up. We will have to build our team a slightly different way, one that may or not be more productive.

Anyway, I am very much looking forward to Vinho playing on Saturday so I can get a better understanding of how he will fit into Arsenal and if he will be selected for Wenger’s Champions League qualifier.

If he finds himself coming out alongside Nasri and Van Persie then he can slap his legs and shout out ‘Merde’

Denilson waves goodbye

Everybody’s favourite Brazilian has departed London and is heading for sunshine, sandy beaches and Brazilian beauties. Life as a footballer must be tough. On a more serious and perhaps less envious note I want to wish him the very best in his upcoming season. While I cannot change some people’s mind about Denilson’s potential which is fair enough. I cannot understand the vitriol thrown his way. A few years ago he was a more developed player than Alex Song, since then their paths have gone in different directions for many different reasons. While he is still a registered player with Arsenal, it is in our best interests that he has as good a season as possible at Sao Paulo.

Give Bartley a go

Kyle Bartley has spoken about his improvement last season and his desire to get a chance with Arsenal. While Manchester United have splashed out 16m on a young defender to play back up to their regulars, I am wondering why we are in such desperate need to spend big money on a new center back. I really do not see the potential duo of Vermaelen and Koscielny being broken up unless injury strikes so I believe that if Wenger is interested in bringing in another defender then it will be as a squad member. I would love to see Bartley get a good chance this pre season to see if he doesn’t look out of place amongst the first team.

Where are the new signings? We want them now!!!!

Because our dirty lining is not being aired in public, many assume that we are not working behind the scenes to bring in new players. There are many factors involved when conducting a transfer of a player, many complications. It is no coincidence that many clubs such as Chelsea, Tottenham and other clubs with money are yet to show their transfer hands.

While we as fans and the manager would like to have our signings in place nice and early so that they can bed in and adjust to their team mates, it is not as easy as going out and picking the player off the shelf, sticking him in the basket and then paying for him at the price we want. In reality we would take the player off the shelf try to put it in the basket and then Chelsea or Manchester City would smash into our backs, knocking us to the floor, snatching the player out of our hands and slamming down double the amount at the check out.

The likes of Chelsea and Manchester City have realised that we have the best scouting system in the country and that all the money in the world cannot buy that overnight so they try and cut the middle man by snatching our targets.

Our late dealings in recent years is to allow our rivals to get their squads sorted out first and now squad restrictions give us an extra advantage as clubs can no longer store players to stop others having them, well it is harder to do so due to the squad regulations.

We often do our business late in the window and I expect the same to happen this time.

Young Guns give opposition a right Hasting!

Kyle Bartley was involved in the reserve match that took place last night against Hastings. Judging by the score line (9-0) it seems as if Kyle could have taken his sleeping bag, set up camp in his penalty area and had a nap. Reserve league bully Jay Emmanuel-Thomas scored a hat-trick while some other kids managed to get the round thing in between the white posts, quite a few times by the looks of things.

Not everyone gets excited about the younger players as it does not impact on the first team’s chances of lifting tin pots but I happen to enjoy watching the progress and growth of our younger players. The depth of quality is actually quite frightening. Perhaps not so much from the level down from the first team although Chucks Aneke, Luke Freeman, Kyle Bartley and a few more all have a chance but it is the 16-18 year olds that are very exciting.

Right, I am sure I have left out a few bits and bobs but I will have to let that slide for now.

Back tomorrow (for real this time)