Wenger has said that the transfer dealings may not be finished yet, which leaves the door ajar for some late activity. Will we see another Diarra, Denilson type signing?

It could be pouring with rain today, it could be bitterly cold in London this afternoon but why would I care? Everything in life is so much more pleasant when Arsenal win, especially against Sam Allardyce and his brand of something, not sure what it is because it certainly isn’t football.

Sky Sports were doing their best to talk up the battle of styles and that Fat Sam was justified to play his type of football because it was the only way that Blackburn can beat Arsenal. This gets my goat to be honest, excuse the mini rant coming up but I need to do it to clear my soul of negative anti football.

Managers, pundits, journalists and some bloggers make out as if the playing field should be levelled up by any means necessary because Arsenal have a squad full of talented players. Stoke City should be allowed to the luxury of drying the ball before each throw. Referee’s should turn a blind eye to Blackburn’s David Dunn who can back into Arsenal players on the goal line because ‘they cannot go and play Arsenal at a game of football’

Well excuse me for a second, haven’t these clubs had pretty much the same blank canvas as Arsenal to build their squads the way they wanted. Arsene Wenger wasn’t given a team full of talented players just because he is Arsene Wenger. Our manager and coaching staff have worked bloody hard to get the club playing this way. We are not Manchester City or Chelsea. We have developed most of these players and because of that we have been able to buy the more expensive members of our squad because of the success of other developed players sold for profit.

For example Blackburn could have bought Gael Clichy, Cesc Fabregas, Robin Van Persie and Alex Song for £1.9m less than Blackburn paid for Pascal Chimbonda and Gael Givet.

British managers are often way over hyped and instead should be made to take a closer look at themselves and should not be excused for producing such utter, utter dire. Imagine spending your good money on a season ticket to watch Paul Robinson (which is bad enough) lump the ball into the penalty area on every occasion. It is the same with Stoke City and watching their players playing for throw in’s.

I am not suggesting that they play an open game and let us win, well obviously I’d love that. I would expect them to try and stop Arsenal from playing, in a fair way and not in a match of the day have a giggle at reckless tackles sort of way but I would expect a manager to buy footballers who erm, actually know and try and play football.

This is why I admire the likes of Martinez, Zola, Hodgson and now Ian Holloway who I am about to join the full membership of his fan club. He has detached himself away from the usual former British players club who seem to always want to have a dig at Wenger. Instead Holloway appreciates and admires the work that Wenger has done and has always spoken very highly of him.

Where is the sneering and patronising of Tony Pulis for acting like a baby? Surely this is a mans game and he should be able to accept Wenger’s comments. I am listening hard and I cannot hear any.

The only thing Wenger has said is that teams should not be allowed to foul the goalkeeper from set pieces. Am I missing something or is that just common sense. Would Pulis be crying into his baseball cap had those comments come from Andy Gray? I think not. Wenger said he respects the crap football that is played by Stoke City and Blackburn but they should have to play by the rules. Maybe not in those words, but you get the point. I am still scratching my head at why this has caused some to spit out their dummies and throw out the toys.

Anyway, that is just far too gloomy, especially after we taught Blackburn a lesson in football. It is ironic that the actual goal that Blackburn did get was a decent goal. Perhaps they should try it again and they could get more joy. There is a thought.

So what’s all this Jack Wilshere stuff then ey? Twitter went a little mental for a while when the story broke. First everyone thought that Wilshere had gone on a killing spree and was about to be banged up for good, then he was an abusive woman beater and would never make it at Arsenal then it turned out that he was a boy scout, acting as peace maker. That is the internet for you. Chinese whispers at its very best.

As long as he has not been getting himself into trouble then I do not really care much about what happened. Well I do if a woman/girl has been hurt but not related to Arsenal. Our young players foreign or English need to look at the past greats at our club and realise that playing for Arsenal is not just about their conduct on the pitch it is about the person off the field as well.

So the window closes tomorrow ey? It could get a little dangerous. Hide for cover and don’t come out until after midnight, that is my advice. The whispers around the place (the place as in the internet) suggest that Shay Given will be heading to Fulham on loan thus freeing Schwarzer to make the switch to Arsenal. Apparently it is a done deal, but so was Joe Cole and Harry Kewell and…. you catch my drift. Let us see what happens. I am missing my usual Tuesday night football because a) I am trying to shake this virus that I have and b) because I will be keeping the radio on, reading the blogs, keeping updated on twitter and if any players sign on the dotted line then I shall write a post midnight article. I realise there are plenty of transfer hungry Gooners out there so I shall try and help with the feeding.

Wenger has said that the transfer dealings may not be finished yet, which leaves the door ajar for some late activity. Will we see another Diarra, Denilson type signing? out of the blue? unexpected? I don’t know why, this is just guess work. I am not in the know or have any particular tasty sauces but I just have a sneaky suspicion that we will see goalkeeper + 1 come midnight tomorrow.

I heard that Manuel Almunia looked like he was saying goodbye after the Blackburn game, throwing his pants gloves into the crowd and waving at the Arsenal faithful. Maybe he was just happy about the victory or perhaps he has a move in place as long as the Shay Given move goes ahead. Who knows. I would certainly be a little sad to see him leave if that was the case. I do not share the same hatred of Manuel as many do on this internet thingy. He has been one of the good guys and has conducted himself the way an Arsenal player should. He has had many shaky moments, especially at the start of his Arsenal career but he has also enjoyed many highs, he has saved us on countless occasions, occasions that are often brushed aside.

As this is purely speculation I will not shed any tears just yet, I will wait until the end of the window before saying any goodbyes to anyone.

Many have had their say on Cesc Fabregas’ display at Ewood park and his expression when being replaced for Tomas Rosicky. Well Wenger has spoken about his captain on .com

Wenger said:

“He will be the player he was before without any problem and he will be stronger, And of course I think he will, once he is fit again, be involved mentally in the team. He is our leader, he is the leader of our team and he has a massive responsibility. I am convinced he will stand up for it.”

“Cesc loves to play and that is why I did not tell him he could come off before the game, He did not know he would come off. He had not played since the World Cup Final. That was on July 11 and we are now the end of August. It is difficult and he should be ready for the next game.”

He was clearly not at his best against Blackburn and the more games he plays the better but I don’t think Wenger needs to explain the situation to anybody. If all was equal then Tomas Rosicky should have started in his place on Saturday. He has the form and fitness behind him but Cesc being Cesc, we need to get him up to speed. As much as he wants to play every minute of every game, he surely knows that coming off was the right thing.

The timing of the next round of internationals is quite annoying really. Cesc would have started against Bolton at the Emirates and could have been that bit closer to his best, instead we have another interruption.

I know I am looking too far ahead here, but I am desperately looking forward to the Chelsea game. That is probably the most difficult place to go in this country on present form but I want to know how this new look Arsenal team will cope. It should be a more combative game than it has been between the two sides of late. If we can stay unbeaten until after that Chelsea game then I will be feeling even more confident than I do about our season. Perhaps we should go there and just launch balls above Cech and elbow him. I mean, we cannot match their spending power can we?

Before I disappear into the distance you can read my Blackburn match thoughts HERE if you either want to or missed it yesterday.

Back tomorrow for the transfer window countdown.

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