Arsene’s refusal to speak about Mark Schwarzer yet deny any interest in Shay Given or Joe Hart kind of told its own story anyway. Quite clearly there is a game of cat and mouse between Arsenal and Fulham going on

Welcome to the new but old Arsenal Vision, I am making a few changes around here. Taking down the old dusty clock hanging up on the side and replacing it with a new one. I am also going to make plenty of decorative changes around here as well, The latter is down to a designer who is rather selfishly enjoying himself on holiday instead of fixing up the new Arsenal Vision, the cheek of it. However he is back a week and a half and should hopefully get on the case.

The new site is much less erm red, as much as I love the Arsenal colours all over the site, it is a little harsh on the ol mince pies (that’s eyes I think) It certainly looks much more modern and jazzy.

Back to the clock analogy. I shall be joining the rest of the blog world with morning posts as my afternoon slot has been taken up by pretty much everything else, it means getting up even earlier than I usually do which is just not fun. The things I do for Arsenal ey?

Anyway, Arsene Wenger was back facing the media yesterday, which is a sure sign that the new season is only hours away. The inevitable transfer questions where thrown at him and in typical Wenger style he batted them right back.

Arsene’s refusal to speak about Mark Schwarzer yet deny any interest in Shay Given or Joe Hart kind of told its own story anyway. Quite clearly there is a game of cat and mouse between Arsenal and Fulham going on. Schwarzer has officially handed in a transfer request and new Fulham manager, Mark Hughes has admitted to Arsenal’s interest.

Hughes said:

“If they do come back and talk to me or my chief executive, then further conversations will be had but at the moment there is no point because we are not talking to anybody because they have not come back to us.”

Judging by those comments, it doesn’t sound like Hughes or Fulham are bolting the door shut but waiting for Arsenal to increase their offer. Fulham know that a) we have cash to spend and b) that our goalkeeping situation isn’t the most comforting of positions to be in at this stage so it is understandable that they would be holding firm whilst from Arsenal’s point of view, we look to be interested in a player with almost certainly no resale value and a player that will have one perhaps maximum two years left at the top level.

This is one that I expect to go right down to the wire.

In my opinion buying Mark Schwarzer could put us pretty much in the same situation as we are in currently. Why?

I believe that if we do managed to prize Fulham’s hands away from the big Aussie then our current number one Manuel Almunia will leave the club. His absence from the end of last season along with his limited game time suggests that he could be pushed down the pecking order. If Almunia is sold then Fabianski will remain as number two goalkeeper but this time has a 37 year old ahead of him who would well be prone to more strains that a younger goalkeeper like erm.. Almunia.

My point is, I don’t think Fabianski is either developed enough for a run in the first team or is mentally ready for a run in the first team. I think we would only be stronger if Almunia and Schwarzer were fighting it out to be first choice at Arsenal but I just do not see that happening.

I believe that Wenger thinks that Almunia is the best goalkeeper at the club but if he feels a player no longer has a future then that player will be removed from his plans as a few past players who picked up mysterious injuries before departing the club at the end of that season have done.

This is how I see it, Mark Schwarzer is better than last seasons Manuel Almunia but I don’t believe he is better than Almunia from two years ago. I don’t believe he can get down to shots that Almunia can but I believe he can catch certain balls that Almunia cannot. It is much of a muchness in my view.

If Almunia does not start on Sunday then I predict that he will be gone before the window closes.

Arsene Wenger also hinted that he could well be staying on at the club which is fantastic news and should really be top of this article. I think I and many others sort of take him being at Arsenal for granted a little because he has been there for so long. In football you don’t often keep onto something so good for such a long period of time. Dennis Bergkamp, Tony Adams and a few others were exceptions.

I can understand why Wenger would want to see out the rest of his career at Arsenal and it is not for the cynical reason that Arsene has full control and can do whatever he wants, that seems to be the opinion of a few angry people that have said the same thing over and over again so now becomes fact. Arsene has built these wonderful foundations at Arsenal and he now wants to see the rest of the building completed which is understandable. He knows the talent that is bubbling under the surface and Wenger is the man to get those players through.

The idea that Wenger is a control freak who wants everything his way is quite frankly laughable. How many top level managers would work and stay at a club with limited transfer funds? how many managers would have to sell top players every season to balance the books?

Jose Mourinho? Not on your nelly. Rafa Benitez? certainly not fact. Arsene Wenger has put Arsenal way before his own personal short term glory and more than anything, he is building for future managers. I am very pleased that Arsene Wenger will be staying on, many others disagree with my view and that as they say, is football.

Arsene has taken off his jacket, rolled up his sleeves and has gone out swinging about the new homegrown rules.

Wenger said:

“The homegrown rule is all artificial. From 1966 to 1996 this country won absolutely nothing. England won nothing and they had not one foreign player [in the league]. How has it changed?

Haha, talk about a smack in the face to the powers that be. I can see the Daily Mail taking full advantage of that quote and continue their usual Arsene Wenger anti English bashing.

It is obvious why this country have failed on the national scene and it is nothing to do with the imports. You can get rid of all the foreign players, fill the league of English players and go back to 1980 if you like, this is not going to turn Kevin Davies into Messi it will turn the Premier league into a league full of Blackburn Rovers, Aston Villa and Stoke City.

Instead of wasting time with these artificial rules as Wenger put it, they should be concentrating on the future of the game. Getting kids under 9 to work on using both feet, controlling the ball at waist height and playing a short pass. At the moment we have kids whacking the ball long to the 9 year old who looks as if he is 14.

If the league was full of Jack Wilshere’s, Glen Hoddle’s, Matthew Le Tissier’s, Paul Gascoigne’s then clubs wouldn’t look overseas to bring in foreign players. Plenty more English players would be in contention for the national team.

Wenger hit the nail firmly on the head when speaking about La Liga.

Wenger said:

“Look at the clubs. The percentage [of foreign players in clubs] is a bit lower in Spain, but not much. You can sign players from all over the world in Spain. Why do they still produce players and we do not? It’s down to the coaching.

“Listen, if I didn’t care, I wouldn’t speak about it. But you have something here that the whole world watches. For me to see that some people are only concerned with putting the quality down is sad.

Wenger has made my head dizzy with the talk of which players are fit and available and which ones are not. Doesn’t he realise that I have a match preview to write? How can I write about the different duels on the pitch or the combinations between our own players if I have no clue of who will be playing.

I think we have 8 certain starters for Sunday. Sagna, Clichy, Vermaelen, Koscielny, Diaby, Nasri, Arshavin and Chamakh. The rest of the side will be three from Almunia, Fabianski, Walcott, Eboue, Rosicky, Song, Frimpong, Cesc, Denilson and Van Persie.

Whichever players take part, I would say we have a very good chance of beating Liverpool.

So what do you think about the possibility of William Gallas heading to Tottenham? Personally, I am not too bothered to be honest. They are supposed to be on a tight wage structure so I am not quite sure how they will reach an agreement but if he wants to take that kind of step down then I suppose that is his right. Many players wind down their careers in the MLS or Dubai and I guess playing for Tottenham is like that.

Harry Redknapp is trying his hand at a bit of comedy, he suggests that Tottenham are going to finish above Arsenal this season and that his side have a chance at the title. Very funny, great sketch twitchy.

Unless they have 11 last minute transfers lined up which include Messi, Ronaldo, Gerrard etc then I suggest they step down from cloud cuckoo land.

Denilson has shown that regardless of the passport, some things just do not change at Arsenal.

Denilson said:

“Yes that would be special, to play Tottenham in the Champions League final… and beat them! Because I don’t like Tottenham. At Arsenal, no one likes Tottenham. I knew that after only four weeks of coming here, even though I was a teenager from another country, from another continent.

“It was one of the first things they taught me here – the other players, the coaches, the manager and especially the fans. And now I have been here for four years, I have experienced it for myself. Now I understand it. We don’t like them and they don’t like us.

“When we play them it is crazy – on and off the ball. It’s a big, big rivalry and I love it.”

Whoever put Tottenham and CL final in the same sentence needs some sort of help.

I have made it no secret of my admiration of Denilson, he was below his usual standards last season and I hope he can return to his form of two seasons ago when he was above the likes of Alex Song. There is no reason why Denilson cannot make similar strides as Alex. If Denilson and Almunia had kept their form of two seasons ago then I believe we would have finished much closer to the top. Clean slate Deni, prove your doubters wrong son.

Anyway that’s your lot for now. Expect a big story to come up about 5-10 minutes after I post this. It is always the way.

Match preview tomorrow! Get in.

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