Morning.

A 3-2 win over Ajax last night. That's good, eh? Oh wait. It's not good. Or something. I must confess I've only seen highlights but from what I've read it seems Adebayor missed 76 chances in the first half, we still can't defend, our midfield is light and we're all going to die. Distressing times.

The goals (from 101 Great Goals) are interesting viewing on their own. The first Ajax goal was an incredible strike but you could ask why William Gallas didn't close him down with any kind of urgency. The second was also a fine hit but you could ask where the hell William Gallas was.

Our first came from a fine cross by Eboue (who has, with that one cross, now cemented his position as first choice right midfielder until 2013) and a very good header by Adebayor. The second from Bendtner came after good work from Adebayor to incercept a back pass and just about keep it in play then Denilson laid one on a plate for Adebayor to win the game.

Obviously there are things for the manager to work on. If we can see the flaws then so can he. The defensive errors are worrying though, especially coming from the player many fans consider to be our best central defender. Afterwards the manager said:

In the whole game we were always dangerous going forward, but they took advantage of two lapses of concentration and scored two fantastic goals. Some players are still a bit short physically, but I am not really concerned. We were much better defensively in the second half.

We're not always going to score 3 goals when we concede 2 though. That was the Ardiles philosophy when he was manager of that lot down the road. Still, it's pre-season and this is time to make those mistakes and ensure they don't happen again. At the end of the day we won the game.

Tonight's game against Sevilla is likely to feature a much changed side. I'd play Kolo again, get some playing time under his belt before next week's game against Twente. Anyway, that kicks off around 5pm I think.

Some transfer news yesterday with the agent of Udinese's Swiss international Gokhan Inler admitting he'd been in talks with Arsenal. He said:

It is true that I met with Arsene Wenger. There were very positive talks.

No question we need a midfielder. If this is the signing then fine. But let's do it and not procrastinate too much. The boss can lament the absence of Diaby all he wants but the fact is Diaby is a player who is rarely fit for long enough. We keep hearing about how he was all set to be given his chance alongside Cesc in last year's Emirates Cup but injury cost him that chance. This pre-season would have been the perfect opportunity to stake his claim, injured again. We can't count on him and once you lose him you've got Denilson (who is a Cesc, not a Flamini) and then you're into the kids like Ramsey or Wilshere (with Song bizarrely being considered a central defender).

We have to make a signing in the centre. No team can afford to lose 3 players with the quality of Gilberto, Flamini and Diarra and not replace them. Arsene's job is not to provide a platform for Diaby to thrive, it's Diaby's job to thrive when given the chance to do so. Something he has pretty much failed to do. Get someone in. It's critical now. 

It looks like we're about to sell another player. This time Justin Hoyte to Middlesboro for £3.5m. I think at 24 years of age Hoyte really has to make a decision about his career. I think this is probably a good move for him, he'll play more regularly and as much as it'll hurt him to leave (he really is a proper Gooner) it's probably the best thing for his career. 

Right, that's about it. Have a good Saturday. Raining here again. Boooo. 

It's very quiet this morning.

Perhaps it's the calm before the storm. I actually typed that as 'clam' before the storm about three times. Imagine that though.

'Reckon there's gonna be a big storm tonight'.

'Why's that?'

'Spotted a giant clam over yonder'.

'Yup'.

Although how the clam would survive out of water to act as a portent of inclement weather is another question, but not one we'll ponder too long. No doubt it would simply descend into a superabundance of fish puns or jokes about chowder and nobody wants that.

Let's talk Arsenal. What little there is. Bacary Clamna says the team are focussed on winning trophies this season. He says:

This season, we will try to be wiser. We will show everyone we are still the Gunners and that we can win the title. We play to win everything and we will try to do it.

You can't really fault that kind of attitude, can you? Obviously we missed him after his injury against Chelsea and perhaps the disruption to the back four caused us some defensive problems. With him and Clichy though I think we have the best full back combination in the league. Yes, even better than Ian Harte and Nyron Nosworthy.

Speaking of full backs Aston Villa have got their beady little eyes on a right back and one name on their list is Justin Hoyte. Let's be realistic, if Sagna stays fit then Hoyte has no chance of making the first team bar the Carling Cup and perhaps the FA Cup. But, if he's content with that then I don't see any problem in us hanging onto him. I know he's an Arsenal lad through and through but if he really wants first team football you have to think a move is his best option.

According to reports in Spain we're about to sign a young goalkeeper from Real Madrid called Felipe Ramos. Madrid want to loan him out but we're apparently willing to pay a transfer fee and Madrid will let him go to provide competition primarily for Fabianski. He's 20 years old and that's about as much as I can tell you. Given that we already have Almuni, Fabianski and Mannone as the goalkeeping threesome it would be a strange signing but I'm just telling you what the papers say.

There's nothing new on the Ruben de la Red link other than a story in the Catalan press about how Madrid never give their squad players a chance and that they'd happily take €12m from us for de la Red. It seems to be based on little more than the Guardian article yesterday though.

There's a game tonight against Huddersfield but it's a very young squad travelling North. We've got the Amsterdam Tournament this weekend which the boss obviously sees as better preparation. With a couple of the senior squad carrying knocks from the weekend's games I suppose it's a case of better safe than sorry, especially with a Champions League qualifier next week.

Right then, that's enough. More tomorrow.

Morning morning, from a despicably rainy Dublin.

Some bits and pieces to go on with this morning, starting with the promotion of Jack Wilshere from number 55 to number 19 for the season ahead. It shows that what the boss said yesterday was true, it's about what he's doing on the pitch and with 7 subs allowed this season he's got a good chance of being involved from time to time. He's named in our first team squad so it's a real measure of his talent that he's there at his age. But let's not forget his age and while it's great to enjoy his pre-season performances let's not expect the sun, moon and stars just yet.

Eduardo, who got a great reception when he appeared on the pitch before the Real Madrid game says he hopes to be playing again before Christmas. There were reports that he might be back in time for the start of the season but given the severity of his injury I think that was a bit optimistic. And there is no point rushing back before everything is 100% ready, physically and mentally.

In the meantime the bulk of the striking responsibility will fall to Robin van Persie and that Adebayor fella. The Dutchman says:

We showed that Ade and I have a few nice combinations together. That is really important for two strikers, you always have to work together, you always have to look for each other. Hopefully this is a good start.

I have to say I was a bit surprised at how well they linked up. One move in the first half saw them cut through the Madrid defence with a series of one-touch passes and if they can work on that understanding as the season goes on then they could be a very good combination indeed.

The Telegraph links us with a move for Real Madrid midfielder Ruben de la Red. He is a good player and would slot into that Flamini role very well. Madrid value him at around £9.5m apparently. With the Spaniards having just been in town who knows what kind of post-match discussion went on. I can't find anything in the Spanish press about it but with Real about to sign van der Vaart they may well be disposed to letting de la Red go. We'll see.

Armand Traore has signed a new long term deal with the club. I'll be interested to see what happens with him this season. I think he needs a loan move. He's certainly very quick but he's got an awful lot to learn still. The best way to do that is play a season somewhere, perhaps in the Championship, then we can see what he's really made of.

And that's about that. I'm off to stare at the rain all day.