Andre Santos is back in training with the group again which is tremendous news, we certainly missed something going forward when his services were taken from us. He is one of the most entertaining fullbacks that I have seen, especially at Arsenal. What made it even worse was that he was starting to get into his stride, his fitness was improving, he was getting stronger defensively and started to have a good understanding with his team mates. I want to see him take another big

Howdy,

Usually the players would be preparing for a game tomorrow but as we are playing on Monday I hope Arsene has them wrapped up in bubble wrap and all compressed into an oxygen tank. That said, I am sure injury or illness would make it through to the players somehow, giving them bubbly syndrome or something.

Arsene said that a few of the players have a few knocks from the Milan game but nothing seems too serious which is wonderful. I was convinced that someone would catch the crock if we continued with our same team over the last three games but fingers crossed that is not the case.

Andre Santos is back in training with the group again which is tremendous news, we certainly missed something going forward when his services were taken from us. He is one of the most entertaining fullbacks that I have seen, especially at Arsenal. What made it even worse was that he was starting to get into his stride, his fitness was improving, he was getting stronger defensively and started to have a good understanding with his team mates. I want to see him take another big step forward next season after he comes through a tough pre season and already having Premier League games under his belt.

Kieran Gibbs who has also missed many a game this season has looked very impressive in his last few appearances. He is a player that I believe we have seen nowhere near his best as yet. He is still very young and has been unable to string games together.

It will be very interesting to see who keeps the shirt when both players are fit. Both players have their strengths. Gibbs is the fitter player, a strong engine that will keep getting beyond his left forward, allowing said player to move into central areas (think Podolski perhaps) but Santos who I have taken a shine to is amazingly technical and is almost like having an extra playmaker in the side but from left back, the false 3 as I like to call it now thanks to him.

I guess Kieran Gibbs has the baton and it will be down to him to keep hold of it if his good performances can continue.

Speaking of maintaining that baton, Tommy Rosicky is close to signing a new contract with us and that my friends is great news. He is a player who has had to go through quite a bit and luckily he is now starting to come through the other side consistently, which now doesn’t make any sense but ignore that.

Has there ever been a player who has had so many different opinions of him? World class > injury prone > rubbish > world class. I hope the sequence stops right there. I don’t know if his run of games is purely down to Ramsey’s injury or if his own fitness has improved. Arsene has been very careful with Rosicky over the last year or so and I cannot remember a time where he has played 3-5 games on the spin until this run. My mantra remains that you cannot write off a player until he has had a run to be judged on.

Who knows, Ju Park could be Ronaldo II with a run of ten games behind him. I jest of course but we (as fans) do not know what these players are capable of unless they are given the chance to prove it.

I really like Ramsey and I am sure he is on the way to becoming a top class player but currently Rosicky makes the team play better and also has the experience so I hope he is retained in the starting eleven because I am sure the boss said that Rambo is available for selection on Monday against the Toon. I am still very much unsure whether he could play 35 league games so he will have to be handled correctly and I am sure he will be as we are likely to have at least Jack Wilshere back. At the very least, he is an excellent squad player and right now he is very important to our first team. There seems to be a desire from supporters to sell off players who are not guaranteed starters but then when the injuries happen, bemoan the lack of squad strength.

Rosicky is an experienced, technical, continuity player who I am very pleased that will be staying with us for pretty much the rest of his career given his age.

One player who is not available for Mondays game is a familiar name, Abou Diaby. Regular readers will know my feelings on the talented midfielder but I must say, I was heartened by his words that were printed on .com

It struck me that we have never really heard Diaby say too much in the past but it sounded like he spoke with passion, with a desire to succeed at Arsenal and as long as he has that fight then he is worth pursuing with in my opinion.

The Ox is not yet ready to claim the central midfield spot as his own just yet according to Arsene Wenger.

Wenger said:

“I don’t think he is ready to play in this role personally but he will certainly develop into it in the future, He will play [there] again but I think he has to play where he is needed basically. The most important thing at the moment is that he develops well.

“He had a good game but he still has many things to add to his game. That is the purpose now for his work, especially the fitness, the physical intensity to add to his game. That will certainly come if he works hard. You are not a star after five or ten games, let’s let him play 100 times and then we will talk again.”

That is interesting when you consider that Jack Wilshere was the same age when he was thrusted into the middle of midfield for pretty much the whole season.

I was hoping to see him playing in the advanced midfield position on Tuesday evening and I think he would excel in that role. We still haven’t seen much of Jack in that role aside from 45 minutes last season against Sunderland at the Emirates if I remember correctly. We still do not know how he would suit that position if at all.

I tell you what, we have some really good young players at this club and that brings me onto what I wanted to talk about yesterday. With the likely signing of Lukas Podolski it will be interesting to see how our team will be constructed

Essentially we have Song, Arteta, Wilshere, Diaby, Rosicky, Coquelin,  Ramsey and Frimpong all fighting for three midfield spots

In the attacking wide spots we have Walcott, Gervinho, Chamberlain, Podolski (probable) and Ryo for two spots. I won’t add Arshavin as I do not expect him to be here next season.

Given that Arsene is not a rotational manager as such, there could be plenty of talented individuals who will be craving more playing time. It will be interesting to see if Arsene makes a tweak to the formation.

With our back up striker supposedly waiting for the July 1st doors to open, it is tricky to pinpoint an obvious weakness in the squad. Certain players will certainly be moving on, that is obvious but with many internal solutions looking like they could take the step up it is hard to imagine Arsene spending large sums of money on another central attacker or even wide attacker. The pruning of the squad has begun and in my opinion we have a platform to go as far as we want. If Arsene can find improvements in certain areas then I see no reason why we cannot challenge for trophies again.

*Cue angry Gooners absolutely furious at that suggestion*

’til tomorra