Speaking of replacements, the Nasri situation has gone deathly quiet. Is this a case of “no news is good news”? The way Arsenal works, you should probably expect something official one way or the other at the beginning of next week.

Afternoon all,

Squid Boy here filling in for Mean Lean. If you’re an obsessed Goon like myself then no doubt you’ve been clicking the refresh button on NewsNow all morning for any real Arsenal news. And I don’t mean transfer news, just any news whatsoever will do!

In fact it’s so quiet that most of the sites are reporting old news such as Vela’s work permit coming through and Hleb’s agent looking to invest in a Haagen Dazs franchise in Madrid. I for one would be glad if many clubs get involved in the bidding process for the Belarusian…some fans would rather we let him rot in the reserves, but what do we gain from that? By selling him, we can get some much-needed moolah to spend on a replacement.

Speaking of replacements, the Nasri situation has gone deathly quiet. Is this a case of “no news is good news”? The way Arsenal works, you should probably expect something official one way or the other at the beginning of next week. There’s little doubt we are interested in him, but Ben Arfa’s potential move from Lyon is muddying the waters a bit. It’s like a love triangle…we get Nasri from Marseille, Ben Arfa replaces him, and Lyon get…erm…Hleb?

Stewart Robson on the official site believes that Diaby can be the replacement to Flamini. Hmmm, not too sure. Diaby’s problem is the he will ALWAYS be compared to Paddy Vieira. While I’m sure technical issues like his tackling, passing and decision-making can be improved, will he have the discipline to sit back? Another touted replacement for Flamini, Jean Makoun has been making noise, but until it’s on Arsenaldotcom, it’s all hot air.

The Euros draw ever closer, and with England’s lack of involvement there is zero build-up in the national press. One of our players who will be in the spotlight this summer is Robin van Persie. With the fragile Dutchman set to miss his county’s upcoming friendly against Ukraine, his national team boss Marco van Basten has said he will bend the rules to include RvP in his squad:

“It’s easier to work together with guys like that than with guys who injure easily. Our basic rule is that everyone that joins our squad has to be able to start in the first match against Italy.”

“Suppose Van Persie remains doubtful… We might say ’he can start in the second match’. He is a special player. With a player like him, things are different.”

That is some compliment coming from a man who was considered the finest striker of his generation. He certainly knows a thing or two about forward-play (I nearly typed ‘foreplay’ there).

I was thinking this morning that after Cristiano Ronaldo’s goal in the CL final, he has pretty much sealed the World Player of the Year award. And it pains me, because he is no better than our Thierry was in 2004. I recently purchased the Thierry Henry Legend DVD, and watching it really makes you realise that we had THE best player in the planet at OUR esteemed club. It’s a bit like the Invincibles season: you won’t really appreciate its full worth until some time has passed.

The only thing that would stop C.Ron winning the prestigious gong is someone having an absolute blinder in the Euros and dragging their country to glory. Step forward Mr. van Persie!

And that’s your lot for today. I started writing this at midday, have even had a lunch break in between in the hope that there’d be something concrete to write about, but alas there isn’t. And that’s why I hate the summer. Screw warm weather, empty transfer rumours and the cricket season. Give me freezing temperatures and real football any day.

Have a good day. Drop your view in the comments.

Until tomorrow.

Your Vision

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