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..

After seeing Chelsea avoid a home embarrassment to a lively Hull City, and new billionaires Manchester City put in an average display that resulted in a 2-0 victory over Blackburn, it was Arsenal’s turn to secure 3 points and see them join the other early season tips for the top 5, at the high end of the table. And they didn’t disappoint. Not by a long shot.

To say Arsenal dominated the match at Goodison Park is an understatement. The systematic dismantling of the Premier League’s 5th place club, from just a year ago, was just as big a joy on the eyes as it was on any Gooners’ nervy stomach. Arsenal’s ownership of this away match, left many wondering whether they’d made the right decision in doubting the Gunners after all. The tension was high before the match and a good start to this pivotal ‘will they, won’t they’ season was a pre-requisite to shut up any of the ‘experts’ who placed Man City above Arsenal in their start of the year predictions. And I can say with some certainty that Arsenal have proven a point. 

The pre-match tension translated into a cagey first 15 minutes. Both teams had trouble hanging onto the ball, and, by extension creating chances. But, after the 20 minute mark, something seemed to change. Arsenal gained confidence after establishing themselves in this crucial away tie, and the chances started flowing. An early catalyst for the Arsenal attack was undoubtedly Nicklas Bendtner on the right wing. He held the ball up brilliantly and his link up play contributed to some very meaningful chances. Not the least of which led to Arsenal’s first goal. A dummy helped him round Leighton Baines easily, then find Fabregas in the middle, who then slotted it in for a Denilson shot which found itself in the top corner of Everton’s net. 1-0 Arsenal. Everton then held their ground for 12 minutes, seemingly stemming the Arsenal tide, but  Thomas Vermaelen found himself untouched in the box for a headed debut goal from a Robin van Persie free kick. This defensive ineptitude broke their spirit. Four minutes later, William Gallas found himself, again unmarked, to add a third. 3-0 at the half was exactly what the doctor ordered, and the performance only got more exemplary of Arsenal’s title ambitions in the second half. Two Fabregas goals highlighted an Arsenal counter-attack similar to those of the Invincibles era. Fabregas dedicated both of his goals to his late friend, 26-year-old Daniel Jarque, the captain of Espanyol who died just last week in his hotel after a training session. A great gesture, as Fabregas held up the ‘Jarque’ ‘21′ shirt in his honor. This also resulted in some unexpected TV time for kit-man Vic Akers. Go on Vic. Late on Eduardo and Louis Saha traded goals to make the final scoreline a resounding 6-1. Actions speak louder than words, surely. But this 6-1 scoreline sends a message to the rest of the Premier League.

So many idiots in the press have made statements that Arsenal will be somewhat lucky to finish fourth this season. What absolute crap. How dare any of the media doubt a team who have been at the summit of the Premier League for so long, and without fail. Sure there have been troubles in recent seasons, but no one can doubt Arsene Wenger’s managerial and motivational skills to consistently lead to top-four finishes. All the media have done have given Arsenal plenty of dressing room pin-up material for months to come. Every time a journalist slagged Arsenal off, Wenger smiled.

Now, I am not saying that a 6-1 defeat over a woeful Everton means Arsenal are title favorites overnight. Far from it. In fact, this resounding victory might only serve to make things a bit harder on Arsenal, as teams will be more aware of the imposing threat that the Gunners still possess. But, this match did allow for one thing to be proven, if you wrote this team off for a meaningful title challenge, and picked them for a fourth place struggle, you’re going to look quite silly in 9 months time. Lets look at the team “weaknesses”. Alex Song, was almost perfect yesterday in his role as a DM stopper; continuing his outstanding play from the stretch run last season. He never stopped working and he won the ball back time and time again. The 5′10″ Vermaelen, was labeled too short to partner William Gallas at the back. A Man Utd-supporting friend of mine said he looked surprisingly Vidic-like when attacking balls in the air (I’d have to agree), as he was a clear improvement over the aerially-inept Kolo Toure. Nicklas Bendtner looked the real deal on the right flank, making me wonder, for the first time, if Walcott really is a better option. The best part about all of it, is that this “thin” Arsenal squad will have top-quality players fighting for starting spots week in and week out.

While perspective is needed for most Arsenal fans, as this huge defeat was mainly due to Everton’s utter ineptitude at the back, we as Arsenal supporters should at least be thankful for a temporary hush to the media’s shouts for collapse.

There is something that happened yesterday, that had not been seen at Arsenal for the past couple of years. In the second half, captain Cesc Fabregas, shifted the team into a 3rd gear which made their potent attacking dominance all the more beautiful. The 4th and 5th goals showed to me that this team, unlike Arsenal teams in the past, can put teams away. Eduardo, adding Arsenal’s 6th, with the help of Andrey Arshavin, was the exclamation point to an outstanding display; it also proved just how rich with attacking options this team truly is. Its not as if they needed 4, 5 or even 6 to see Everton off, but the continued attacking mentality just exemplified Arsenal’s true intentions yesterday at Goodison Park: to send a message.

Post your comments, and start debate on what you think this victory means here.

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.

When he gets the ball, the crowd sizzles; the oohs and aahs he generates after his cuts and turns are a testament to how revered this young boy already is by the Arsenal faithful. The one thing that Wenger can be applauded for is that he is not the type to prevent someone playing time because they are too young. For Arsene, it really is the case that if your good enough, your old enough. We should be thankful for that. Therefore, if Jack consistently plays the way he has been, he’ll be a regular first-teamer come Christmas; he’ll have probably bagged some goals too.

While the future is very much ‘wait-and-see’ for Wilshere, Theo Walcott has to step it up this season. I really hope to see Walcott make bigger strides this year in a more central role, otherwise he might just be overtaken by this lad. As you know, TW14 also had heaps of pressure thrown onto him at a young age, and last season we saw him make strides for Arsenal and leaps and bounds for England. Unfortunately for Theo, its been harder for him, with shoulder troubles and as he has not been given adequate time in his natural position. It is quite clear he is not a right-midfielder. His speed and acceleration are unmatched, but its harder for him on the flanks as most of his attacking contributions rely heavily on his crossing and link up play, two things he’s not particularly known for. If he is up front, there will be goals that he will create out of nothing simply due to his pace, which will be exciting to see and reminiscent of another Arsenal #14. I imagine Theo is all too aware that this is his season to stake his claim as a can’t miss starter with the likes of Cesc and Arshavin. Lets hope his shoulder problems are behind him, and that he can turn his Arsenal performance this season into an important role for England next summer.

“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.