Very rarely has Arshavin been given the number 10 gig and it is unlikely that we will see it happen any time soon. This is the perfect opportunity as a fan to say that the manager has lost the plot because he cannot see what I can even without a counter balance from the man who watches the players

Hello there boys and girls,

The sunshine so far as well as the upcoming football is overpowering my tiredness which has left me somewhat chirpy today.

There is only one place to start this blog apart from the very important task of informing you of my mood of course but before I do get on that subject, I wonder if I am the only blogger who almost feels obligated to use a pun when mentioning the name of Juan Mata. I will fight against it today because it has become very boring.

We have been once again linked heavily with the Spanish playmaker. Some have even gone as far as to say that we have agreed a deal in principle with his club Valencia.

Although I think it may be a little early to start shouting ‘fire fire’ you cannot help but smell the smoke that is drifting around this transfer window like air.

I suspect that it is highly unlikely that we will ever see a one-two between Cesc and Mata at the Arsenal because I imagine that the Mata deal would be largely dependant on whether or not ze brokeback of the Barcelona can come up with an offer that is not derisory.

I would love to come up with a tactical article as to how the team would change and adapt with the possible inclusion of Mata but the truth is, I know very little about his abilities apart from what I have seen on You Tube. Terrible I know but my knowledge of Mata is extremely limited and I am guessing this is the reason why I haven’t joined in with the moon walking in the streets when the news broke last night.

If Cesc does end up where we all expect him to end up eventually then a new player is a must if we are to continue to progress. I would say that ‘a midfield trio of Ramsey, Wilshere and Song is world class, one of the best trio’s around’ but that quote was taken from my Arsenal Vision time machine in two years from now. Cesc was our bridge until that time but now that he may be removed from the picture we need another little bridge to orchestrate proceedings from the middle of the park.

While I would have had doubts about Arshavin’s ball retention and perhaps his defensive work off the ball, I would have been very intrigued to see Arshavin use his strengths in that position. While some of his passes would frustratingly end up 5 yards behind Van Persie in dangerous positions, his assist record over his career would have seen him contribute to more than his fair share, but it is his explosiveness that would have been truly exciting. Especially with Walcott and Gervinho pealing away either side of him on the break.

Very rarely has Arshavin been given the number 10 gig and it is unlikely that we will see it happen any time soon. This is the perfect opportunity as a fan to say that the manager has lost the plot because he cannot see what I can even without a counter balance from the man who watches the players almost every day in training. So what, the highest ticket prices in the world rules out logic from any debate, ok?!

I started talking about Arshavin for a reason, oh yeah, his comments. He wants to score 15 goals. I don’t know if he should just restrict himself to that number to be honest. It would be crap if he already got his 15 goals for the season and then on the last day of the season he was presented a chance to win the game and consequently win the Premier League but instead he blasted wide because he already set himself a 15 goal target but yeah, I know what he means.

He also said:

“I think we will get stronger and stronger,”

“In particular I think our work on set-pieces, both attacking and defending, will be better. We’ll also play a pressing game – if we do that well, I’m sure you’ll see an improved team.”

I am liking that, I must say. Even though the picture has been painted of Arsenal being possibly the worst team to have ever existed in the history of the game at any level and any age group. I fully believe that if we had pressed better consistently as well as being stronger on set pieces then we would be Premier League winners today and the collapse wouldn’t have lasted anywhere near the length of time that it did.

I may well be in the minority but if the squad of last season were all together this season minus Gervinho and no further additions came in then we would win the league if we corrected the mistakes of last season, but that no longer matters (could have thrown it in there) because a) we do not have the same squad b) we will be investing in new players. Regardless of personnel, the issues of last season remain and will have to be worked upon.

When we think of our weakness at set pieces we often think about defensively and rightly so but how many blinking times do we see corners whipped into the near post for the opposition defender to casually swipe the ball away smoking a cigar with a pair of brown slippers and dressing robe on. It is all to easy for the opposition to deal with our set pieces with ease and we lose out on our fair share of goals over the course of the season.

I think back to Thomas Vermaelen’s league debut at Goodison park, how many times have we seen our players cock back their neck in the way he did that sunny afternoon to power the header past the keeper. Mr rebel MC (Tommy V) alone will make a considerable difference to set pieces at both ends of the pitch. Not because he is a lumbering oaf *ahem* Chris Samba *ahem* but because he is has the desire to put his head where it hurts. He has the natural hunger to win the header before his marker and unfortunately we have missed a little ov dat over da last few years initt.

Bloody shame about Theo missing the Emirates cup and possibly the start of the season. The last thing we need is the return of injury problems. I was looking forward to seeing the Theovinho combo at the Emirates, pure unadulterated speed but it is unlikely to happen now. He needs to get free of his knocks and niggles before he gets the injury prone tag thrown over his neck.

With Robin Van Persie and Samir Nasri being unavailable for the Champions League qualifiers we kinda need the rest of our attacking players available.

Well Mr Arshavin, this is your chance my friend.

Speaking of quick attacking wide players, Young Guns suggested yesterday that Arsenal are preparing the paperwork for Ryo Miyaichi’s work permit application.

To be honest, I cannot make my mind up as to what the best thing will be for the lad. Would love to see Ryo warming up with 15 minutes to go, to then see him dazzle the right back for the remaining time of the game as we score two late goals to secure our victory.

But at the same time a season where he is first choice would benefit an 18 year old much more than sporadic substitute appearances for Arsenal. I don’t think we will start to see the best of him or anyone else at that age until they are at least 21 and that goes for stupidly gifted players like Wilshere also.

In more defensive news, we are about to increase our offer to £13m for Jagielka according to reports. When our alleged bid of £10m came in for him, I seemed to be one of a few people who didn’t think that the amount was way off the mark.

He is 29 years of age, not exactly a player with the scope to improve considerably. He is also not first choice for his country. So why is he worth massive amount of money again? We paid roughly £10m for Thomas Vermaelen who is a better footballer and is young enough to improve yet keep his value. While I would be up for a bit of Premier League experience to rotate with Verm, Kos and Djourou I am not sure if it would be wise blowing almost £20m of our budget on player and wages coming towards the ender side of a players career. Yeah I know ender is not a word and doesn’t make sense but what you gonna do about it?

Before I go, I just want to wish Connor Henderson a quick and more importantly a successful recovery after it was announced that his pre season injury would rule him out for the season to come. Poor lad.

Anyway, enjoy the rest of the day.

Back tomorrow.