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Personally I would love to see Alexis start through the middle, generally you try and place your best players in the middle of the pitch where they get more of the ball but I wouldn't be at all surprised to see Arsène go for Yaya Sanogo to lead the line. He has had the entire pre season to get up to speed unlike the rest of his striking partners, not to mention his confidence building four goals in his last start for Arsenal. I think we should start as many of the full pre season players as possible, they have looked the sharpest so far which is not a surprise, this would give the world cuppers extra time to catch up.

We have been drawn against Turkish side Besiktas for the CL qualifiers. There were easier games, more comfortable trips but really and truly we should be too good for all the teams over two legs. I'm just glad we didn't draw against Athletic Bilbao which would have been very tough. In truth I am not too fussed this year for once. Usually I am fretting because we desperately needed the CL revenue but that is not the case anymore thanks to Puma and Emirates. Don't get me wrong I always want Arsenal in the Champions League but if we fail to get in then I shall see it as a great chance to focus our energies on the title.

He has changed. I can't ever imagine Wenger in a situation like our rightback's after Sagna leaving, going out and buying a proper experienced replacement AND a young talented one AND loaning out last year's 2nd choice RB. I get we now have the money to buy a replacement but loaning out jenks is ruthless and right. In years past he would have never done that even if it were cheap replacements. Another thing that tells me he has changed a little is Ospina, when have we ever had two good goalkeepers that can be both 1st choice? It's a battle between them and I would think we'll end up selling the loser in two years. That's ruthless and would never have happened before. Last season there was money there, maybe not as much as we think, but still there was money to do good

I think you'd be hard pushed to find an Arsenal fan who would rather he moved to Manchester United, well unless you really do not rate him. Arsene has said on more than one occasion that he will replace Vermaelen should (when) he leaves the club. I'm interested to know what type and age/experience player we do bring in. Calum Chambers looks to have impressed Arsene so far so I wonder if the manager would buy a more senior figure, a little like Debuchy to keep the door open for Calum to break through in the future. Unless he would rather move him to a different area of the pitch but I guess we will see as time goes on. We may have to wait until closer to the end of the window for our last two faces.

Furthermore, Yaya Sanogo finally unearthed his shooting boots. Usually I don’t judge on a pre-season game – as they’re focused on assessing current squad players, and building up match fitness. Sanogo took his goals very well the other day, but previous performances against Bayern Munich and Liverpool assured to me that was always going to be a handful for opposition defences. I’m just glad he’s finally off the mark, and is not viewed as such a comical player now. So on paper; that’s Giroud, Sanchez and Sanogo. A healthy trio, and a fairly consistent injury record (excluding Yaya) between them

I thought Alexis tried too much to the detriment of his performance. He seemed to want to beat a man whenever he got the ball and often lost possession but I'm sure he will get better at picking his moments when he is fitter and sharper. He certainly showed glimpses of his quality. Starting on the right wing with licence to drift inside, there was one moment on the first half where he came inside and threaded one defence splitting pass to Giroud in between a few defenders but the Frenchman's legs could not rotate quickly enough to gain control of the situation and the chance was squandered. Once Theo Walcott is back in that right sided position making those runs in behind the full back and centre back then Alexis Sanchez is more than capable of finding him if indeed he is

It is Alexis time as the teamsheets have been plastered on the dressing room walls at the Emirates. The new exciting forward Alexis Sanchez starts as expected. Arsene said he should be getting 45 minutes today. Alongside him is Frenchman Oliver Giroud so we can assume that the new boy will be starting from a wide position.

As exciting as Campbell, Ramsey and Sanogo's goals were, I was most impressed with the forward contribution of Hector Bellerin. I've enjoyed watching him in the reserves for a while but really wanted to see him around more senior players. I got my wish yesterday. What instantly stood out was his composure on the ball and lack of fearlessness. His link up with Campbell was impressive and his pick out for Campbell's goal was worth applauding by itself. For years we have seen our right back get to a certain position on the right and fire in crosses into the box without any particular target in mind. One run in the first half was reminiscent of a seasoned winger in his prime. From what I've seen of him at reserve level I love his little darts in behind the opposition left back which has lead to plenty of assists

Arsène spoke about Sanchez and his ability to play as both centre forward and wide forward so I suspect that we will see him for 15-20 minutes from the bench as a striker today and 60 minutes or so as a wide forward tomorrow. Or of course the other way around. Perhaps we will see the same with Joel Campbell who Arsène said would be featuring today. He and perhaps Chuba Akpom will share the central striking position today and I guess both can play out wide also. Is this the most versatile and flexible squad that