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…

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.

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…

Recently, Arsenal have seen the summer be a time of year when valuable players have decided they want to go to other, more successful clubs. This summer Arsene has been selling those players who, 1, don’t necessarily want to leave and 2, don’t figure into his plans going forward. This is a welcome departure from tallying the losses of valuable first-team regulars. Let me say thanks to Kolo for being a humble and hard-working servant to the club. He signed when nobody believed in him, and he left becasue Arsenal wanted to cash in on him, not because he wanted to leave, despite what you read. Yes he handed in a transfer request last January, but it is known that his relationship with Gallas had mellowed, and he was willing to fight for a spot. But, Toure was slowing down and becoming more and more marginalized by the arrival of Thomas Vermaelen. Adebayor simply didn’t deserve to play for the club anymore. No heart, no team-first attitude, he is a great footballer, but he’s is not a Gunner. To the untrained eye, it seems rather ominous that an already young team has sold one of its most experienced players. But those of you who are scouring the headlines day in and day out, like I’ve been, know that there is something greater going on.

Obviously you’ve heard about the possibility of our skipper coming back. And while he definitely won’t be the Vieira of old, he will be a massive lift for a young club that has craved a vocal, level-headed leader. I feel Cesc will grow as a captain this year, and Patrick can only help him develop. He can teach him, by example, how to be a leader. (Side note: Cesc is already on the right track by meeting up with the squad in Austria, and in-effect cutting his summer vacation a week short. It’s a small gesture, but it tells us a lot about the head he’s got on his shoulders.)

With Vieira arriving, would that be it for our vacant DM spot? Probably, at least until January. Nobody can argue that Wenger has faith in his midfielders, and adding two players for the same position, one that Wenger himself doesn’t even necessarily brand a weakness, would be too out of character.

Vieira is available for free, (really fees would equal close to £750k) but that’s virtually nothing for invaluable winning experience and leadership. So with such a thrifty, clever signing, my first thought is that Wenger has a more expensive buy in mind. This is a trap that Arsenal supporters, myself included, fall into. Thinking that Wenger has a £20m purchase up his sleeve often leaves Gooners feeling silly and slightly embarrassed. However, with all of the money he has generated, combined with the imminent departure of Emmanuel Eboue, Wenger surely has some cash earmarked solely for expenditures. Even he has to reassure fans by action rather than words at some point, doesn’t he?

Of the £50m Arsenal will have generated if Eboue is sold for the £9m Fiorentina are offering, how much will Arsene be allowed to spend? Furthermore, how much will he choose to spend? Personally, I’d love to see Huntelaar and Cattermole. I know Cattermole has been criticized for not being worth the talk, but I genuinely think he will be a force for the next several years. I feel that seeing him at Anfield or Old Trafford, knowing that we were interested, would be just another blow to our already damaged ego. I figure Arsenal could directly take Toure’s £16m and give it to Real for Klaas, then get Cattermole for £9-12m. It could be conceivable that Arsenal sign both with just the money from the Adebayor deal. Putting Kolo’s entire fee into the bank is something Wenger would certainly salivate over.

Assuming we get Vieira though, the Cattermole pursuit ends and Arsenal could then spend the funds on a big, aerially dominant, central defender. Obviously Hangeland jumps to mind, but I feel as though all signs are pointing against any money being spent on a centre back. Wenger has stated outright that we have so many central defenders; he’s trying to play them in midfield. The solution? Sell Senderos, move Song back to midfield and leave Silvestre in the woods somewhere. That gives the Gunners 3 capable centre backs in Gallas, Vermaelen and Djourou. Then there is the potential of buying another one to shore up the back lines. Surely Mr. Wenger, it’s about quality not quantity.

Could this be the day when captain fantastic returns home? What a lift it would be.

Secondly, Wenger has come out and essentially said that the £15m Toure transfer to Manchester City is hours away from completion. The Daily Mail claims that Wenger is going to send that money straight across London to lure Brede Hangeland, the 6 foot 5 Norweigen central defender, away from Fulham. The Cottagers certainly want to hang on to their rock, but Roy Hodgson has a contingency plan should they take the money. The Fulham manager has reportedly inquired about the services of Hull defender, Michael Turner to replace Hangeland.

So in essence, Arsenal lost the last player they had left who was on the invincibles’ side as well as a world class defensive midfielder in the same day. And yet I’m still remarkably upbeat. Oh to be an Arsenal supporter…

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.

Wenger, on the other hand, has come out with his typical “I can spend if I want” statements, and I believe him. But I’m not curious as to whether he can spend the money, I’m just curious as to why he actually thinks the squad is strong enough in central midfield to ignore the £35m he’s generated in the past 5 days.

I just look back to the Champions League semi-final this past spring, to remember just how dominated Arsenal was. While the defense was injury riddled and we were without some key players, you’ll notice our top choice central midfielders were all healthy. Yet United bossed Arsenal from the kickoff through the entire 180 minutes. It could have been a fluke, an aberration, as Arsenal earned 4 points off them in the league, but why take that chance? Melo’s gone, Inler seems destined to end his career with Udinese, and Matuidi just doesn’t excite me. Were Arsenal to snatch Cana or maybe even Yaya (also to be involved in the African Cup of Nations), I’d be fully expectant of silverware this season, but for now, I just don’t know.

Lets do the math, Wenger apparently had £13m to spend at the beginning of the transfer window. Reportedly, Vermaelen came in for £11m, Arsenal sold Adebayor for a cool £25m and if you were to tack Toure on for £10m, that brings us to a warchest of £37m, or £24m to spend while still turning a profit for the summer. Just spend 12-15 of it, please Arsene? Lastly, after watching the first half of the Barnet friendly, I can’t help but think that Gallas and Vermaelen look to be very similar defenders, which, while immensly talented, leads me to believe Vermaelen is better suited to be Gallas’ eventual replacement rather than his partner in the center of defence. Maybe it’ll take Arsene one more year to realize he needs some size in the squad, but until we hear otherwise, he’ll roll the dice for another season. As if to say ‘Lets see what comes out on the other end…’