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Even though we have been hugely boosted by new commercial deals, it doesn't really change the fact that in a one off tug of war battle with a financially doped club then we are likely to fail in our attempts to land that player, however it does give us a much stronger chance of keeping current players together and I would argue that doing that was possibly even more important than new signings

That player I hope is not Wanyama given his agents ridiculous comments about essentially using Arsenal as some sort of stepping stone to Manchester United. I am not quite sure what an agent has to gain from saying something so stupid. Is that supposed to inspire Arsenal to make a move? No

Going by our recent behaviour, it seems as if we are content on waiting, waiting until either a fee has been agreed with a target of ours so we can match it which would prevent a bidding war and then use the charm and attraction of playing for Arsene Wenger which in many cases has worked. Abou Diaby and Oliver Giroud chose us over Chelsea. Aaron Ramsey chose us over Manchester United and it was the same with Chamberlain and Walcott. It could also be why we wait until deadline day to make moves assuming that another club has not made a move for that player, by that point Chelsea, Manchester United or Manchester City have already filled up their spaces or they are too late to get involved

wide forwards like Theo Walcott and Lukas Podolski then you need space in behind the opposition to be dangerous, if that space is denied then you need your wide forwards to make either their own chances or make chances for others. Do you see those two cutting inside

The speed of which people go through transfer rumours on twitter is quite remarkable. This morning it was Grenier and at the last time of checking we had agreed a fee for Capoue. It will almost certainly be a case of boy who cried wolf for me because when we do sign someone, I blatantly won't believe it which I guess is better than believing every rumour. The Wayne Rooney to Arsenal rumour keeps coming back and seriously why is this happening? It makes so little sense. Are the tabloids taking the micky here? Firstly, assuming that we are not going to match the wages he gets at Manchester United, why exactly would Rooney leave Manchester United to earn less money, remember Rooney is a footballer. Also, why would Arsene break our transfer record to buy a player who is

In the early games that work executed on the pitch, the trouble was that the team defending was affecting our attacking play, not just the numbers committed to get behind the ball when we were not in possession but having built a new attack, players were clearly adapting and adjusting to a new life in London. If you look at individual examples of the past like Robert Pires, Dennis Bergkamp and

Then Sky showed Gareth Bale's standard screamer and blimey it was a fine strike. The margin for error had been completely erased so it was down to maintaining that clean sheet. Given all the nerves and fear when I think back, we were relatively in control of the game. The Geordies may have had spells of good ball possession but they really did not test Szczesny anywhere near as much as you'd think. Theo Walcott had finally managed to get that pass where he would be set clear, his foot work to turn the defender was actually quite good but his finish only found the base of the post rather than the net, with Bale's goal still fresh in the mind, the fear of the late sting was a concern. Sky television wanted to let us know every couple of seconds that a Newcastle goal would send heroic mighty underdog Tottenham into the champions league.

As for the team news, we all expect Mikel Arteta to be out with injury but I am hoping Arsene is pulling a fast one and Arteta will arrive to Newcastle in a blue and red suit donning a smart red cape. Flying into the Arsenal midfield to save the day from the evil Pardew, or something. If Arteta is really out then Aaron Ramsey will replace him as the deepest midfielder with Jack Wilshere replacing Ramsey in that box to box role if you catch my drift.

There are many more layers about the 2013 Premier League. Mikel Arteta has been underrated this season and has done a far better job defensively than Alex Song possibly ever did for Arsenal, at least over the course of a whole season. Arteta is asked to position himself in areas where he can make continuous interceptions, follow runners off the ball and interchange with Aaron Ramsey. You could argue that Vermaelen could do a similar job but I would argue that his positional sense at the back this season hasn't exactly been a positive has it?. But when Arsenal have the ball we would be asking a centre back to face his own goal, take the ball off the back four, often under intense pressure, turn past opposition players and keep the ball moving. He would also have to run

I wondered if we would start off slowly to then crank up the gears late on but luckily that was not the case, we went after Wigan from the off. Arsenal fans around the world have been increasingly frustrated with our corner kick routine which are almost the equivalent of giving the opposition a goal kick. Instead of the pointless whipped kick at knee height, Santi was instead floating the ball into the near post for someone, mainly Mertesacker to flick on, Wigan showed why they are fighting relegation rather than