To be honest, I feel that a fine would be more appropriate in cases like these. Suspending every player who dives for two matches would making quite a bold statement. A statement UEFA might not be ready to back up. Do they really want to review every diving incident that takes place? That is what will be expected of them, at least. Either way, I expect this problem to dissipate, without any proper action. It would be a big decision that would indicate the true intentions of UEFA, as well as the extent of their intentions to eradicate diving on the European stage, something I am all for. However, picking out one player in order to inflict a penalty that is clearly an overreaction is not the answer in my eyes.

Wednesday, Arsenal will look to secure their place in the Champions League group stages and then the season will well and truly be under way. They will face Man Utd at Old Trafford next Saturday, and then, after the international break, they’ll go up against Man City at the Eastlands. If Arsenal are able to secure 4 points from those two games, the Gunners will truly establish themselves as title contenders. We will see how the next several weeks turn out though.

There have been a couple of notable players so far this season for Arsenal. Thomas Vermaelen has looked great in every game so far, while players like Abou Diaby and Alex Song have also impressed in their time. The strikers have yet to fully adapt to the new 4-3-3 formation, resulting in a lack of goals from the front three. But in due time, they will adapt and hit their stride. If it happens this week, all the better. Regardless, Arsenal look a lot less suspect at the back as a result of the Vermaelen addition, while Man Utd and Liverpool have already lost games. United finally looked to add some spark in their 5-0 drubbing of Wigan, but their performances against Birmingham City and Burnley, which saw them only net 1 goal between the two games, made them look quite an impotent side.

On the other hand, Burnley and Tottenham have thoroughly impressed in their first three games, leading me to think the former might be able to stave off relegation, while the latter might be able to compete for 5th along the likes of Man City. It’ll be another great season in the top flight, lets just hope Arsenal’s 100% record can continue for just a couple more games..

But I must admit, when I saw the Times headline ‘Wenger admits selective Myopia’, I thought to myself, “He’s done it! He’s admitted we need defenders!” And I was of course disappointed only to read about these meaningless on-field altercations. As I sunk back down to realizing that Mikael Silvestre will be our third choice center-back until Djourou returns from injury next month, an all too familiar feeling hit me. He’s actually not going to sign any defenders is he?

Sure we want him to. Sure he has the money to. Sure even he must know we need to. But he’s not going to do it is he? If he leaves our defense unchanged from here on out, we’re in big trouble. I expect the Senderos transfer to Everton to be completed early next week, and then we’re really in a mess. Maybe he’s waiting to sign another defender before officially unloading Senderos? A man can dream, can’t he? We all know Hangeland would be a good short term solution. But at 28, it’d be an awfully expensive buy in my opinion. Personally, long-term I want PSG’s Mamadou Sakho. He’s not ready yet, so I’d wait till next summer to snap him up, but he will be one of Europe’s top defenders in a matter of years. So who should we sign on a short-term basis to shore up our defensive worries? Well I’ll let you lot discuss that, because I’m too apprehensive about the potential inactivity to really make any predictions.

On the plus side, we are about 32 hours away from the start of our campaign. And I couldn’t be more excited. I am currently engulfed in the typical pre-season giddiness, and that really has no price. I was wearing my new away kit yesterday while buying a book at my local Waterstones, and the guy behind the counter asked how I thought Arsenal would fare this upcoming season and I just about talked his ear off about expectations vs. our actual performance and how, usually with Arsenal, there’s an inverse relationship.

Yes, yes, its all talk and no play, but thankfully that is about to change. I was looking at the Telegraph’s match preview and they apparently see us playing five strikers including an injured Walcott with Eduardo pairing with Cesc in a central midfield role, so that was an interesting take. I, on the other hand, see us lining up more like this:

van Persie

Arshavin——————-Bendtner

Cesc

Song———Denilson

Clichy——Vermaelen——Gallas——Sagna

Almunia

Now, I’d personally rather see Arshavin on the right, van Persie on the left with Eduardo up top. But, Wenger has his obsession with the new #52, so I’d be surprised if he were omitted. Well, that’s it from me. I’ll write a match report Sunday, whether we’ll be table toppers, or  wallowing in the early season relegation zone, well we’ll just have to wait and see…

As with what always seems to happen in Europe, whenever two British teams can be drawn together, they often are. Arsenal will play Celtic in the Champions League 3rd qualifying round play-off. The first leg will take place at Celtic Park on August 18/19 with the second taking place a week later at the Emirates on August 25/26. Arsenal could have also been drawn against FC Timisoara, Anderlecht, Fiorentina or Atletico Madrid.

In what should definitely be a cracking tie so early in the season, Arsenal will need to be wary of their northern opposition.

Now, many of you may look at this as a non-issue, and until Arsenal make a formal bid/enquiry for the player, it most certainly is. However, for a boss who never tips his hand, this is a big step. It was reported that a £5.5m bid for Sevilla defender Fazio was rejected. Fazio’s agent then came out and squashed any would-be rumors stating the 22-year-olds preference to stay in Spain with the club. This tells me that, believe it or not, Wenger is looking at strengthening the back four. So perhaps, after attempting to pull off a steal in Spain, Wenger’s next option is to submit a bid for an established Premier League defender, for a higher price…

Fulham manager, Roy Hodgson, along with the likes of Mark Schwarzer, have declared their intent to hold on to Hangeland. And why shouldn’t they? He is far and away the player most responsible for Fulham’s climb up the Premier League table last season. Fulham conceded a stingy 34 goals last season. Partly because of Schwarzer’s brilliant campaign, but also because of Hangeland’s defensive capabilities as an aerially dominant ball winner, and as a defensive organizer.  Despite being at the club for just on 18 months, Hangeland has already been named the club’s vice-captain.

In response to Wenger’s interest, Hodgson said, “When a bigger club is interested or connected with one of your players, of course it is a source of worry because Brede is a very important person for us.” This is a good sign. The word ‘worry’ indicates that were Arsenal to table a bid in the region of £8-11m, Fulham would find it difficult to refuse. 

One snag that many have mentioned is that Hangeland is cup-tied in Europe, playing in both Europa League qualifying legs against Lithuanian side, FK Vetra. However as per UEFA rules, Hangleland would only be ineligible for the group stage, not the entire competition. This is because he has not yet played in the Champions League. Therefore, Arsenal would only have to get through the play-off and group stage without Hangeland.

The draw is in about 30 minutes time, lets hope for the Romanians…

Tomas Rosicky has “reportedly” picked up an injury to his hamstring that will see him out of action for 5-6 weeks. I’m sorry, but no. The Sun did this just one week ago with a story stating that Eduardo would be out for up to two months. After proceeding to notch a goal in the Emirates Cup a few days later, I took this to mean that he would be okay. Now the same publication is claiming Rosicky has picked up a serious knock, and maybe he did. Its just largely suspicious that no sources were quoted, and that not one official publication (BBC, Arsenal.com, Sky Sports, et al) has even run the story yet. Not even one of those ‘Report: Rosicky Injured’ ones, where the ‘Report:’ gets them out of any liability for the story’s congurency with the truth. Until you read about it on a real news site, ignore this along with the rest of the transfer squabble. 

Update: It looks as though this story does have the legs. Tomas apparently came up lame during yesterday’s practice. The immediate estimate appears to be 3-4 weeks. Meaning his return should be around the end of August, maybe in time to face United on the 29th.

Next on the pain train, are indications that Arsenal are “bracing themselves” (what this means, I’m not quite sure) for an “audacious” bid from AC Milan for Cesc. The same paper (The Sun) is claiming that the bid is in the region of £31m. In this transfer climate, that is the kind of bid someone would have to table to pry Walcott from Arsenal, not Fabregas. A Fabregas departure for anything less than £55m would be ludicrous to even consider. And why should a 22 year old Cesc be worth less than a 27 year old Kaka? That being said, even if Milan were to table a gargantuan bid for the maestro, who’s to say he would want to go to the San Siro anyway? Surely, he’s heard from close friend Matthieu Flamini how desperate their position is…both financially and in a footballing sense. This one was a poor attempt by either the English or Italian media to sell some papers. Surely they could have come up with something more convincing though? ( More along the lines of ‘Milan to flip Kaka fee to Arsenal for Fabregas’ would have caught my eye, a least for a few seconds…)

Next, Arsene Wenger has, once again, exhibited his superior intelligence in the transfer market, by thoroughly embarrassing Bordeaux president, Jean-Louis Triaud. Two clubs showed advanced interest in striker Marouane Chamakh, Arsenal and Sunderland. After telling Sunderland they were nowhere near a big enough club to sell too, Bordeaux expected Arsenal to snap the 25 year-old attacker up. Then, despite a £15m price tag, Wenger low-balled the hell out of them with a £5m offer. Bordeaux dismissed the offer out of hand and claimed that if Arsenal wanted to make a serious offer, they would be prepared to listen. Chamakh then went on the rant that I posted previously; bringing up his desperation to leave next summer for free, when his contract runs out. Wenger then withdrew his interest stating:

“In five months, if he doesn’t prolong his contract, Chamakh will be free to talk to any club and Bordeaux won’t get anything. In the current context, to me, it is over. Let’s say that at the moment it is terminated.”

The French Ligue 1 champions then proceeded to send a letter of apology to Sunderland, ensuring the club that their intention was not to insult, but to inform. Haha. Now that Chamakh has made it clear that his dream is to be a Gunner, Bordeaux are in a very bad spot. They have to sell him now, lest he cause a dressing room rift or, worse, leave for free in 12 months time. Either way, Bordeaux’s success on the field has not exactly translated to savvy front office behavior. That’s football, though, you can tell in a heartbeat, which individuals are ready to deal with power plays and which aren’t.

Finally, tomorrow morning is the Champions League 3rd Qualifying Round Play-off draw. Needless to say, Arsenal should beat any of these sides, it would just be best to get an easy draw so that we don’t have any misguided concentration at the start of the Premier League campaign. Timisoara would be a lovely draw, although the club wouldn’t exactly relish a trip to Romania this early in the season. Let’s just hope we aren’t thrown any surprises and its business as usual on the European front.  Here are the 5 teams that Arsenal can be drawn against:

1. FC Timisoara (ROM)
2. Anderlecht (BEL)
3. Celtic (SCO)
4. Fiorentina (ITA)
5. Atletico Madrid (SPA)

Have a good one.

“There is no doubt we will miss two great players, Kolo is one of the greatest defenders for us. I’m sure we will miss him but we have to play without Kolo and Adebayor now. It’s no problem for us. I still think we are better than them.”

Quite right, I must say. I did find it funny though, that the guy who is starting to return the banter to the Eastlands is the player who has been perhaps the least impressive so far this pre-season. After an embarassing blunder last week against SC Columbia, Almunia was a little shaky against Rangers yesterday, flailing several times at inswinging corners. And with Wenger continually offering Fabianski playing time, you have to wonder if this is Almunia’s last season as the number one. Its only his second season with the gig, but I wouldn’t be surprised if Fabianski is handed the job next summer, or even if Wenger were to make a short-term signing to give Fabianski a bit more time. Point is, Manuel needs to focus a bit more on his job.

That being said, it is nice to see someone shooting the talk back at City. A club whose players don’t seem to notice that they’re scuttling through the pre-season. Maybe they’re finding their groove, or maybe Kaiser Chiefs and Barnsley are world class clubs in hiding. But regardless of what City fans say, these games are somewhat important, these are chances to find a cohesion without the risk of losing points. We’ve seen it before, when clubs have attempted to just flip a switch once the season starts, football doesn’t really work that  way.

Laslty, I stumbled upon this article in the News of the World, despite being one of the least respected publications around, it could still serve as pin up material for the Arsenal squad. Despite being desperately anti-Arsenal, the ‘columnist’ also seems to have forgotten Arsenal finished four points off the pace just one year ago.

This is the week, Gooners. Signings or not, come Friday we will have a much better idea as to who we will be going into battle with this season. Wenger has admitted that he would like to make his additions prior to the start of the season as opposed to waiting till the last minute as he has not been shy about doing in the past; earmarking the Valencia match as his quasi-deadline. I feel two signings plus Vieira are on the way. After all of this ‘maybe, maybe not’ talk regarding Patrick, I feel it would be a bit souring were Wenger to pass on a pay-as-you-play deal. Do we really want things to end like that? No, (especially not if Vieira is to be handed a coaching role after his playing career) and I don’t think Arsene does either. Just give him some part of Adebayor’s freed up wages, and everybody wins.

Marouane Chamakh appears ready to sign for Arsenal today or tomorrow, as he is in London in anticipation for his imminent medical with team doctors. It is unclear whether or not a fee has been agreed, as Arsenal had their first offer, one of £5m, rejected. Chamakh, meanwhile, has done his best Ashley Cole  impression by blackmailing Bordeaux, his current club, into selling him for any price, regardless of whether they are content with it or not. Here is his recent rant in full:

“I am angry, I am disgusted and I do not understand why they have done that [rejected Arsenal's £5m offer]. One thing is certain, I will not be signing a new contract – if they will not let me go now, I will leave for free. If a solution cannot be found quickly, everyone will lose. Frankly, I really do not want to start the season with Bordeaux. Already I am told that Sunderland is not the club for me. But since when does a club chose the future of a player?”

While it is somewhat flattering for Chamakh to be so eager to become a Gunner, it should also serve as ominous behavior. What if he bags 20 for us this year and Real come calling? Don’t get me wrong, I don’t think that he will be good enough to score that many (as he only tallied 13 for Bordeaux in Ligue 1 last year), or that I would be particularly averse to selling him for a profit, its just a character flaw he has displayed with this outburst. We finally got Adebayor out of our system, do we need another loud-mouth?

In regards to the “…since when does a club chose the future of a player?” portion of the quote; what are you on about, Marouane? The club can agree to whosever offer they see fit. That’s how it works. If they don’t like the offer, or by extension the club ( as seen in Sunderland’s case), its their perogative to say no. You can sing and dance all you like, but at the end of the day, they have the right to even take you off the transfer block and bench you for the remainder of your contract, if they so please. Its clear you’ll be sold, just let it happen.

Another thing, after watching this weekend, why are we buying a flashy, unproven attacker? It seems as though we have these in spades. With Vela, Bendtner, Wilshere and Walcott all trying to stake their claim in the front three (assuming Wenger adopts the 4-3-3 he’s been toying with), which as of now should see Eduardo up top being flanked by van Persie and Arshavin (and will also boast Nasri, when he returns), why add a somewhat combustable character into the mix? That being said, there is no reason to argue against depth, especially after what we’ve all gone through over the past several years.

Furthermore, all indications are that upon Chamakh’s signing, Tomas Rosicky will be moved further back into a more central role, as opposed to the left wing, where he had been plying his trade earlier in his Arsenal career. What I’m guessing is that our first choice XI could look something like this:

Eduardo

van Persie——————————————-Arshavin

Rosicky——————Fabregas

Song

Clichy——–Vermaelen——–Gallas——–Sagna

Almunia

Quite an attacking lineup I must say, but I’m sure Wenger will employ a more defensive 4-4-2, or even 4-1-3-1-1 set up in the bigger matches. As you could see this selection having a wee bit of trouble against a potent counter-attack. But if Arsene manages to put this squad out consistently, I’d wager that we will score more goals than striker-heavy City.

With more and more quotes coming from le boss about being happy with the squad, and maybe not using any of Arsenal’s windfall, supporter’s are by no means on the edge of their seats, expectantly waiting for an immenent arrival. It’s more of a deja vu type feeling. Every year around this time, the days crawl by and rumour and circumstance is really all there is to cling onto. We get the little flashes of ‘how brilliant would that be!’, but it eventually fades out.

To those who claim Arsenal could win the league with the squad they have now, I don’t completely disagree. However, I do feel that everyone would have to remain healthy, and the youngsters would have to genuinely contribute to the cause. Ramsey, Vela and the like would need to become more established and impactful in their substitute roles, while Walcott would have to make just another step in his progression towards becoming a star. That being said, just because your squad ‘could’ win the league doesn’t mean that strengthening isn’t neccesary.  I just don’t really see Wenger spending more than £15m for the rest of the summer. It’s also quite evident that if the £15m or so were to be used, it would be spent on multiple players to establish depth.

Wenger would see signing an established player like De Rossi as disloyal to his current midfielders, as well as an admission of wrong-doing to the fans and media. If nothing else, Wenger is a stubborn man. And with an ever-growing chip on his shoulder, you get the impression that winning is going to happen his way, or not at all. And to be honest, thats a little frightening. One complaint I did have on his ‘not all problems can be solved by buying’ argument, is that while this is certainly true, as you can look to the spuds spree last summer, to indicate that spending upwards of £50m can still see you toiling in the relegation zone 8 matches into the season. But, surely some problems can be solved by spending. Buying a player who plays a position that is considered a weakness in your team, can be solving a problem.

Either way, as the summer moves on, it becomes increasingly important for us to get behind our team. Whether he makes the signings we want or not, come September 1, we’re stuck with what we’ve got, which lets be honest, is quite a good little team. I’ve changed my tune on the striker front. I feel that assuming we don’t loan Vela, we could have a very complete strike force. Expect Bendtner to top 20 goals this season, and van Persie to follow up one of his healthiest seasons to date. But above all else, enjoy the football from our young guns; we are in first place afterall…

He will look at all possible replacements for Emmanuel Adebayor. After losing his flamboyant hit man to an eventual rival, Wenger has taken a lot of criticism. While this is by no means new to the Frenchman, it has to be assumed that he is considering options. With his two most talented strikers both suffering more than their fair share of injury problems, one has to think a deal is imminent. Whether it is a potential 30 goal/ year candidate like Klaas Jan Huntelaar or more of an experienced squad player for a cheaper price, remains to be seen. There have been reports that Arsenal are interested and some claim they have already made a bid. Despite the fact that none of these reports seem to have any substance, where there’s smoke…

Secondly, Wenger is looking into the holding midfield role. As this position is one of the less flashy on the pitch, one can find a good DM for pretty affordable price, something that should definitely appeal to Wenger. Rumored to the position have been Wigan’s Lee Cattermole, St. Etienne’s Blaise Matuidi, Stuttgart’s Thomas Hitzlsperger and a quick return for Matthieu Flamini. Lorik Cana and Felipe Melo were also linked before signing with other clubs. This position is a sensitive subject for Arsenal supporters as it is the side’s most glaring void, and nobody seems close to filling it. Where the Gunners need an experienced and ruthless ball winner, they have Abou Diaby, Denilson and Aaron Ramsey, Wenger seems to prefer Alex Song in a central defensive role, so he will see less time here. This one is more difficult to diagnose as there seem to be very few offers put out by Arsenal. For whatever reason, Wenger seems sure that the answer lies within his squad. To his credit, he could be right. This position seemed a liability two years ago, until Flamini stepped into it and was one of Arsenal’s most valuable players. Once again this one is up in the air, and until I see anything on the Official Website, I won’t believe any of the stuff being bandied around.

Lastly, did I miss something? Unless I read wrong Arsenal are at a huge risk at losing their top four spot to City. Whoever thinks that City have ‘a good chance’ at leapfrogging any of the top four clubs in the first season after their lopsided makeover, is utterly delusional. Can you please explain to me why City’s signings of Emmanuel Adebayor, Carlos Tevez, Roque Santa Cruz and Gareth Barry have made the club 23 points better? Three of them are strikers. I know, I know, they’re starting to spend on defenders now that their attack has been addressed. But as of yet, quality defenders aren’t exactly lining up to join up with Mark Hughes’ side. Furthermore, winning atmospheres aren’t purchased. Even Chelsea finished fourth before the Abramovich era started. It’s an eventual process, not an immediate one. Arsenal has not finished outside the top four in Wenger’s tenure with the club, and they don’t appear close to doing so now.

How much worse did Arsenal really get by losing Adebayor? Sure he scored 24 Premier League goals (6 of which came against Derby) two years ago, and every Arsenal basher loves to spout his record over the past two years because they know his form last year left a lot to be desired. The club just got paid £25m for a selfish, lazy, prima donna who, lets face it, had a lot of trouble converting straight-forward chances. Nicklas Bendtner was a more efficient striker than Adebayor was last season. Instead, while people engage the sensationalist ‘Another Arsenal Exodus’ trash, Arsenal supporters and players are getting ready for a very legitimate title challenge. Yes, Arsenal finished 18 points off the pace last year and yes, the Gunners were even a full 11 points behind third place. But lest you forget, Arsenal’s talisman Cesc Fabregas missed 3 months due to injury, Andrei Arshavin only played half of the year, while Eduardo and Tomas Rosicky saw less than 300 competitive minutes between them.

Importantly, Arsenal tallied up 9 points out of a possible 18 in games against the rest of the big four. Liverpool led the pack with 14; Manchester United earned only 5; and Chelsea, a paltry 4. Last season’s struggles were not down to not being good enough in the big games as so many people have carelessly declared. It was down to a young team not putting away lesser opposition. Losses to Hull, Fulham and Stoke indicate that the problems lay more with the doldrums of the Premier League season. Those who claim the young guns suffered on the big stage must not have done their research.

With the addition of Thomas Vermaelen and the emergence of Kieran Gibbs, Arsenal are starting to develop a good range of depth in the defensive third, this to go with their slew of attacking options up front and, specifically, on the flanks. Arsenal finished 9 points above fifth place despite only getting 22 Premier League appearances from their captain. So to clarify, getting Fabregas back for a full season is what is going to push Arsenal out of the top four? Does Adebayor’s departure really outweigh Fabregas’ return to form in some people’s eyes? If so, they need to go to Spec Savers.