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A deal that seemed almost certain to go through was the transfer of the affable Harry Kewell from Leeds. He seemed the perfect fit for us at the time, quick, technically gifted and could play as an attacking midfielder or striker. He had one year left on his contract and had been making sexy eyes at Arsene and the club for a number of months. I was bitterly disappointed when he signed for Liverpool; news that Liverpool paid a fee of £5 million with £2 million going to Kewell himself demonstrated that Arsenal didn’t feel the amount touted was acceptable. In addition he was on a reported 5 year deal at £60,000 a week which would have been near the top end of our budget. In hindsight, it looks like we dodged a bullet. Kewell never emulated the form or class he portrayed at Leeds

Funnily though, that spot light hasn’t quite been shone upon Arsenal’s leader of the line, Olivier Giroud as much as one would expect. Going into the season with only one senior striker is quite a bizarre scenario, in years gone by it would have been unheard of given that most formations required two strikers starting on the pitch. Given that we play with one striker slightly lessens the theatrics of the situation, but it is still incredible to think if Giroud picks up a suspension or an injury, our fantastic season could crumble instantaneously. So why haven’t the journos and media made a bigger mountain out of this molehill? Well, with Ramsey’s form, the arrival of Özil and that messer Flamini going round mutilating football jerseys, there simply hasn’t been an opportunity to stoke the

Arsenal squad is inconclusive. This is undoubtedly a much more talented and hardworking side than we’ve had for a few years, capable of playing scintillating football on good days whilst grinding out results on off days. Whilst I will not pay much attention to the Chelsea

Arsenal’s spine, allowing Cesc Fabregas the freedom to develop and express himself higher up the pitch. If Cesc was the effulgent Sherlock Holmes, then Gilberto was Watson, the diligent assistant adding methodical hard work to Holmes’ eccentric brilliance. It may seem uninspiring but it was a selfless act that allowed the team to play without fear of being exposed. With that in mind, it is interesting that so many people lamented the sale of Alex Song, a player who quite often ignored his defensive responsibilities to bound forward and join the attack. Whilst this worked great in combination with van Persie in his final year, many forget how often it left us exposed. His bundles of energy and his tackling often masked his naivety in the defensive midfield role. Song

Llorente is one, as he sits behind several international players despite being a player of real quality. There are several in the premier league in a similar position; how long can the likes of Edin Dzeko, Chicarito and Demba Ba sit on the bench before deciding enough is enough? I am not saying we will move for any of the aforementioned players but this could be the year were the January transfer window is a bit more accessible. Looking at our own squad it is clear that until January, Wenger needs to come up with a suitable plan B. This may take the form of Nicklas Bendtner, Theo Walcott or Lukas Podolski; whatever way it goes there needs to be a clear understanding of what is required

something came to my attention, a group of people have become very defensive about the way they slated Ramsey’s performances and called for him to be dropped over the last few years, they have also gone on, to defend in which the manner they slated his performances and questioned Arsene Wenger for playing him. So, not only were they completely wrong in their judgement of him, but on top of that, they add that they were right to be dismissive of his skill, his quality and dismissive of what currently is the best manager in the league saw in him. Some minorities went further than being dismissive, but abusive, and took pride in the abuse or stick they gave the player

Arsenal fans as "Wengerball". The style of play was breathtaking and fans not just of Arsenal but across the country were treated to what has become one of the fine examples of the beautiful game. The teams in the early 2000's especially could turn defence into attack within the blink of an eye but not only that, they managed to do it in style.

Without delving into stereotypes too deeply, there has always been a belief that a British player offers you guts, hard work and a willingness to lay their bodies on the line. Looking at some of the most successful teams in the past decade or so, there has always been a British core at the centre of title winning teams. Chelsea have had it with Terry, Cole and Lampard, United had it with Ferdinand, Carrick, Giggs, Scholes and Fletcher, among others. Even Man City, with all their billions of pounds, saw fit to centre their team around a stable Gareth Barry. Whilst I’m sure you will find similar players from any nation, I think Wenger’s recent push for British talent was two fold; firstly all of these players are of the required quality to make it at Arsenal football club if they knuckle down and work hard, they demonstrate what a bright future the club has and the faith we have shown in them is being repaid. Secondly, as they have been part of this squad now for a few years and they all seem to have broken through at roughly the same time, with the

We are currently on a 5 game unbeaten run due in no small part to our superb French centre forward. We have based our game on quick movement and passing with Giroud holding the ball up, looking for the lay off to the on rushing man or, as seen on Saturday, slipping a ball through the defence. His hold up play has been fantastic and his finishing excellent. Whilst last year he was more than satisfactory, this year has seen a real step up in quality and confidence. He seems to have a great understanding with his team mates and is clearly enjoying his football at the moment. That’s why his injury is all the

£70 million! That’s some serious cash. But let’s register a few caveats. Firstly, we’ve not had anything like that kind of money for the entire trophy-less period. Back in November 2006 the cash balance was £53 million. Well, if a balance of £154m only gives us a transfer kitty of around £70 million I think we can assume things were pretty tight back in 2006! Furthermore, as recently as 2009 the club took a pretty big hit on its property profits – selling a set of flats at a £10m discount to a real estate group to free up some funds. This is not the act of a club rolling in cash, it was a fairly desperate act of a club trying to keep all its financial balls in the air.