The majority of Arsenal news has focused on two individuals: one outgoing, and the other seemingly not incoming.

Evening Gooners. Late blog today, there was little to write about this morning so I thought I’d wait and see what develops during the day, but there hasn’t been much.

The majority of Arsenal news has focused on two individuals: one outgoing, and the other seemingly not incoming.

I love Big Phil Senderos and am sad to see him go. My heart is heavy, but my head is telling me it’s the right move for all concerned.

When he was given the vaunted no.6 jersey at the start of the Emirates Era, I envisioned him and Kolo repeating their clean sheet exploits for the best part of the next decade. How wrong I was.

For all the good he did in the latter part of 2004/05, the run to Paris and even covering for Kolo during the 2008 African Nations, there was a downside. Getting Drogba’d in 2005/06 rocked his confidence, and more recently he was made a scapegoat following our Champions League defeat at Anfield last season.

The final nail in the coffin came last week. Not only had he seen his countryman Djourou usurp him as first-choice back-up, but the signing of Mikael Silvestre pushed him further down the pecking order. Put simply, this town weren’t big enough for the both of them.

I think the slower pace of the game in Italy will suit him – it is no surprise that his best performances for us came against more methodical Continental opponents – but he may get a nasty case of déjà vu and find that he is not given the run of games that he so obviously needs to get up to speed. And while it has been styled as a season-long loan with an optional permanent move at the end of it, don’t put your money on seeing him in the red and white ever again. A permanent move will bring in a fee in the region of £5 million, which is a fair chunk of change.

Another man who most likely won’t be donning the red and white next season is fellow Swiss, Gokhan Inler. The move has been on and off for a while. From reports a fortnight ago claiming that it was a done deal (think back to Myles Palmer jumping the gun regarding shirt numbers); to Steve Stammers proclaiming on Arsenal TV that it wouldn’t happen; to the beginning of this week when it was on again, and now the grisly end:

“We have decided that Gogi remains with Udinese. The big step to Arsenal would be purely a bit too early for Inler as a person. Maybe he will be ripe in a year.”

Too early as a person? Sounds like agent-speak to me. No doubt he’s just signed a whopping big fat contract renewal. Which means that if we are to come in for him next season, not only will we have to pay higher wages to secure his services, but probably a monster release clause too. Mr. Inler, I fear you may have missed the Arsenal boat for good.

So that leaves very few choices for the vacant central midfield role in our squad. Or so we think. While all eyes will doubtless be on Barry or Alonso, Le Boss is notorious for doing the unexpected. Michael Johnson anyone? If he has got half the speed of his sprinting namesake, he’ll do a damn fine job of closing down the opposition.

If the rumours are correct and we did have a £10 million bid for Alonso knocked back a few weeks ago, I can’t see many options but to return with an increased offer. And the other day when I was claiming him to be a Fabregas Lite, I may have been doing him (and Cesc) a disservice:

Maybe Cesc doesn’t need a minder in midfield anymore?

And maybe Alonso can get stuck in?

I personally have never seen him do so, but that is probably because I don’t watch non-Arsenal games anymore. If anyone is an expert on Alonso and his defensive qualities, please drop us a line in the comments section.

And so we come full-circle back to Phil again. With his departure, Cesc has lost another close mate. That’s three in three months, following on from Hleb and Flam. So we could do a lot worse than bringing in Alonso.

Cesc himself is in line for some action against Twente, whether it is from the start or off the bench. I personally would give him a good hour at the beginning; hopefully he can thread through a few killer balls and kill Twente off before they get a whiff of a comeback.

Thanks for reading, now let the arguing commence in the comments section…