Morning, today's post is brought to you with a hint of a *boilk* but not much more than that really. Although I can taste chips. Not so good.

Anyway, Sunday is a day of rumour and scuttlebutt in the papers so let's get on with that. The Times is reporting, in a very casual manner I have to say, that Kolo Toure has agreed personal terms with Manchester City.

To me this appears to be a couple of steps ahead of where it should be. Generally personal terms are agreed after the clubs agree a fee. The Times says £15m is what he 'should' be sold for but makes no claim of contact between the two clubs. So how are personal terms being agreed? Then you remember that Kolo's agent is one Jonathan Barnett, grubby pal of the swervy husband of the X-Factor judge from Girls Aloud and it makes some kind of sense.

£15m for Kolo? It'd be something you'd have to consider, for sure. However, the only way you could accept it is by spending some of that money on another centre-half, because if Kolo leaves and Senderos leaves, as seems likely, we're only a couple of injuries away from Sylvester and Song at the back and that, my friends, is making me taste chips again.

The other thing you have to consider is that it would make City better at the back and while I think getting rid of Adebayor has not affected us adversely, selling Kolo to them would probably be unwise.

Steve Stammers reports in the Mirror that Eduardo's return to training is making Arsene think twice about buying a replacement for Adebayor but the News of the World says we're planning a £7m swoop for Solomon Kalou. AW did confirm last season that we'd tried to sign him last summer so that's probably where this story is coming from but I have to say the thought of Kalou in an Arsenal shirt isn't exactly filling me with glee.

His name makes me think of Salamander Glue and if anyone can think of a good use for salamander glue besides sticking a whole load of salamanders to someone's car then I'd like to hear it. I bet it has nothing to do with being any good at football though.

And if you thought Salamander Glue was the most off the wall transfer rumour of the day, think again. How about Lee Cattermole? £10m says VitalWigan. I watched him a bit in that U21 tournament and he does like a tackle but he's hardly the experienced quality player we're all looking for. Anyway, I would suggest this is about as likely as me laying a golden egg. 

Srallex Ferguson has been having a bit of a pop at Man City in the papers today, and who can blame him? While calling them 'small time' and 'people who enjoy being raped by monsters' (I think, I haven't read it all), he confirms that Emmanuel Adebayor's people desperately tried to engineer a move to United or Chelsea rather than go to the City of People Who Enjoy Being Raped By Monsters Stadium.

I saw Adebayor on Sky Sports News last night talking about the upcoming season at his new club and all I could think of was 'You prick'. Not terribly clever or anything but after that many beers I'm not in charge of my own head.

Rumours in Italy say that AC Milan want Nicklas Bendtner. Can't see it. Especially after Berlusconi gets on the phone to Peter Hill-Wood.

PHW: "Hello?"

SB: "What are you wearing you sexy little minx? I would make love to you all night long. Bring some friends. We can have an orgy".

PHW: "I beg your pardon?"

SB: "Ooops, so sorry. Wrong phone. Althoooooouuuugh ...."

PHW: *click*

The News of the World and the Mirror also tell you what you already know about young Brazilian Wellington so there's no need for me to link to the stories. 

And that ladies and gentlemen is about that. Have yourselves a jolly Sunday. More tomorrow.

Morning all,

we spoke yesterday about how Arsene Wenger was keen to do his transfer business quickly this summer. He obviously wants to get players in as quickly as possible, to integrate them well during pre-season so they're nice and settled before the season starts.

Despite saying he didn't want to lose any players it's fairly obvious that one or two will be leaving - and one in particular could have a big impact on our summer. Emmanuel Adebayor never won back the fans after his ridiculous behaviour last summer and, at the end of the season he pretty much put the final nail in the coffin of his Arsenal career with the whining, pathetic interview on BBC's Football Focus.

His last campaign certainly won't have increased his value but he's probably still got enough stock to merit a fairly hefty transfer fee which would obviously free up funds for Arsene to spend elsewhere. This morning's Mirror claims we've offered Adebayor to both Milan and Inter after his agent hinted he'd like to work with Carlo Ancelotti, the new Chelsea manager. 

Adebayor's agent, Stephane Courbis, confirmed the interest of one club but sent out rather mixed messages about the player's availabilty. He said:

It's a given fact that Carlo Ancelotti likes the player seeing that last year he tried to sign him for Milan, although Chelsea have not contacted us. This doesn't mean Ade is for sale to resolve Arsenal's economic problems. I spoke with Arsene Wenger this morning and he told me nothing of the kind.

Nor would he. Telling an agent something like immediately weakens your hand, especially if you're trying to move the player on in a hurry. He can just sit and wait until the final moments of the transfer window and that, of course, would suit him, not us. Courbis went on:

We have not received any calls, not from Milan or Ancelotti. Another team has contacted us, but I cannot say anything, it's a very important team.

'I cannot say anything', he says, quite obviously not not saying anything. Anyway, that there's some interest is promising and while I do understand the reluctance to sell to Chelsea I have to say if they came in with the right kind of money I'd sell. If they don't buy Adebayor they'll buy someone else and the someone else could easily be a far better player. Better the devil you know, and all that.

Milan's interest may be revived, according to The Times, after their attempts to sign Wolfsburg's Edin Dzeko look to be floundering.

Whatever happens, wherever he ends up - and I don't not see him at Arsenal next season - I hope it's sorted quickly and efficiently and it doesn't turn into one of those tedious summer-long dramas. The business that's done has to be done to suit Arsenal and not the player.

One man who could take advantage of Adebayor's departure is Nicklas Bendtner and Arsene Wenger has been talking him up, saying:

When Nicklas is really switched on and focused, he is a handful for any defence in the world. He has shown that in the second part of the season. People forget how young he is, but I am sure he has won many people over in the second half of the season.

He is still only 21 and last season ended up with a very respectable total of 15 goals in all competitions. The season before that he got himself 11, with far fewer appearances. So the boy knows where the goal is, that's for sure. The key part of what Arsene Wenger is saying is about him being focussed, and there was definitely an improvement in the second part of the season. Hopefully the kick up the arse he got after the Burnley game in the Carling Cup has got him back on the right track.

Last summer were linked with Swiss midfieder Gokhan Inler and his name has cropped up again this time. If I recall correctly the Udinese player was quite dismissive of Arsenal's efforts to sign him last time around so I'm not going to shed any tears if this, as it seems, appears to be little more than a rehash of last year's stories.

The Manchester Evening News says, very briefly, that Man City want to continue their pursuit of Kolo Toure.

Finally for today, something to put a smile on your face - Phil Brown to face an FA charge for his behaviour after the FA Cup game against Hull. Hahahaha, suck it up, you fake-tan wearing, used car salesman looking, headset wearing, shit-goatee sporting, sit your players down on the pitch to give them a teamtalk to make yourself look good in front of your own fans but instead make yourself look like the complete and utter cunt you are, CUNT.

I hope he gets sentenced to death (although I'm not quite sure that's within the remit of the suits at Soho Square).

Till tomorrow!

Morning from a very wet Dublin. It's lashing down here today. Gah. Anyway, lots to get through so the weather can take a back seat.

We'll start with Ajax defender Thomas Vermaelen who looks set to join us in the very near future. His agent says:

It's more a question of when' than one of if it will take place.

A fee has reportedly been agreed, I'd assume personal terms with the player have been sorted out and now it's just a matter of checking his knees and getting his signature on a contract. Exactly when that happens is anyone's guess but I think we might see him sooner rather than later.

Meanwhile Emmanuel Eboue is thinking about leaving. He barely featured in the latter part of the season after being infuriatingly regular earlier on. He says:

It would be very difficult to leave Arsenal, but I believe it would be more difficult to experience the same season, not on the pitch. Anyway if I leave Arsenal, it will be for another league, because it is out of the question I will play anywhere else in England.

Cheerio then. I would shed no tears if he left.

Bacary Sagna, like Gael Clichy, was reportedly linked with Real Madrid. In an official statement on the club's website he reaffirmed his commitment to the Arsenal, saying:

I have seen the quotes attributed to me in the French media today and I just want to put the record straight. These comments are not accurate and I’m not aware of any speculation linking me to another club. I am 100 per cent committed to Arsenal. This is a great Club and I’m proud to wear the shirt.

Good man, Bac. I know a few people thought he suffered from 'difficult second season' syndrome but I thought all in all he was the most solid and consistent defender we had last time around. Plus at a time when we need to strengthen the squad the idea of letting first team players like Clichy and Sagna makes no sense to me.

Cesc Fabregas, as we know, is away with Spain for the Pointless Cup, and he's apparently not best pleased with Xabi Alonso. Alonso, having put him out for four months last season, clobbered him again during training and Cesc is due to miss Spain's game with Iraq with a sore knee. Quite how sore it is we don't know. There's no suggestion it's anything serious at this stage but I'm expecting news by the end of the day that he'll have to have his torso amputated.

Nicklas Bendtner has been talking about his pants-down episode after the Man United Champions League exit. While he fully accepts he shouldn't have been out on the town after the defeat he claims he was set-up by the tabloids. He says:

Of course I don’t run around with my trousers down – why would I do that? There was just one who pulled my pants down as I stepped out into the street, and then there were 10 to 15 photographers just standing there waiting to take the picture, as if they were awaiting the situation. There was clearly something agreed beforehand.

Now, I've warmed a great deal to Nicklas this season but this sounds a bit iffy to me. How did the paps decide who was going to do the pants pulling? Short straws? Rock - paper - scissors? I suspect Nicklas is in the habit of wearing his pants very low, like many young people these days. They seem to think that their hips are not a crucial part of the pants wearing process and instead use a belt to fasten them just above the crack of their arse. 

With a few drinks on him and perhaps a recent trip to the men's room it could well be that he didn't fasten them correctly and thus they fell down. Anyway, it's all done and dusted now. I did like what he said about his form and the reaction he got from fans:

I wasn’t too upset with the Arsenal fans because, for two months, I wasn’t happy with how I was playing myself. They were just frustrated, like me, that I didn’t play as well as both they and I knew I should.

And he got his head down, worked harder and ended up with a very respectable goals total for the season. Let's see if he can kick on next season.

The Mail, bastion of truth and accuracy that it is, is linking us with a £15m move for Felipe Melo. He's a Brazilian midfielder playing for Fiorentina with a penchant for cards. 17 yellows and 3 reds in his first season, according to the article. Sounds like just what we need. Any student of Wenger will know we win more trophies the more red cards we get. Time to roll back time, folks.

In non-linky news Stuart Pearce is apparently set to unleash his wrath on Theo Walcott and drop him from the England U21 squad. What a twat. He insists and insists that Walcott plays then after one poor performance, in which none of the England players played particularly well by all accounts, he drops him. Top management.

Elsewhere Emmanuel Adebayor has been banished from the Togo squad for yet another bust-up with a coach. It seems to happen every single time he goes away on international duty and Togo have had a number of coaches down the years, the common denominator is Adebayor. At this rate we'll be lucky to get thruppence ha'apenny for him.

Finally the fixtures for the new season are out this morning at around 10am. Will update the first few here when they come out, officially. From what I hear we've got a tricky start though.

Update: And here are the fixtures. We start away to Everton, followed by a home game against Bolton, a home game against Portsmouth and then we're away to Man United.

The first North London derby takes place at home on October 31st (provisionally) and the end of January/early February throws up some very interesting fixtures. United at home on Jan 30th, then Chelsea at home on Feb 6th which is followed by Liverpool at home on Feb 9th. What a 10 days those are going to be.

Should all go well our run-in is not bad at all. The last four games are Wigan, Man City, Blackburn and on the final day of the season, Fulham. 

It's all very real now that the fixtures are out. I can't wait.

Till tomorrow.

It was twenty years ago today, Michael Thomas taught the band to play ... erm .. scored that goal.

Yes, that goal. You know the goal. Possibly the most exciting Arsenal goal that has ever been scored. Hard to believe it's 20 years ago though.

Our first title win since 1971, the first of my lifetime, and I suspect if I live to be 150 I won't see another one quite like that. Every time I watch it I think the Liverpool defenders are going to get back at Michael Thomas, that they'll poke it away from him, but they never do. Outside of the foot, into the net, pandemonium, Mickey's floppy-fish celebration.

Words can't do it justice so just watch it again.

I'm tired this morning. Wishing I could get that extra hour of sleep back.

Funny how this 'Earth Hour' thing happened, everyone turned their lights off in a pathetic attempt to save the planet, and then we lose an hour's sleep? Coincidence? I think not. It's nature's way of telling us to stop being such a pack of Marys and just get on with things. I hope people will think twice before taking part in such nonsensical stunts in the future.

If we try it again who knows what might happen. We here in Ireland may finds ourselves with 12 months of winter as Mother Nature takes away those long, hot, sweaty summers we enjoy and for which we are famed. And if that happens I will be most crotchety, let me tell you.

We're still in the middle of the Interlull although now, at least, there's some light at the end of the tunnel. There's another round of games though and hopefully our lads will come through without so much as nick or a scratch.

Sadly, speaking of Nicks, it seems as if Nicklas Bendtner has picked up a knee injury playing for Denmark. I can only find word of it on one site and when you click the story the page doesn't load. The headline says "Denmark Admit Concern Over Extent Of Injury To Arsenal Star Bendtner".

They're obviously so concerned that they've forced a media blackout to prevent widespread panic and rioting on the streets of Copenhagen. I hope it's not too serious.

But wait, a little more digging around and I've found some quotes from the Danish coach, Morten but not Morten from Aha Olsen. He says:

It is an unfortunate injury, but we do not know yet how it looks in terms of Wednesday. He has irritation and pain in the left knee.

I like that. I can imagine Bendtner's left knee with a nose and eyes and a mouth making a face like an old woman listening to teenagers on a bus playing the latest hit from Nelly or Sean Paul or Dustin Timbersnake on their mobile phones for the rest of the passengers to 'enjoy'. What is the story with that anyway?

Do the youth of today have no interest in the quality of sound at all? When I was a lad we'd strive to get the best quality audio we could. That involved buying a new stylus every few weeks, saving up and getting speaker cable that was a bit more expensive than the bog-standard stuff, tweaking amps, adding equalisers and much more.

Now these little bastards download a 64kb MP3 from some dodgy site and play it via their mobile phone's speaker, making it sound like a retarded wasp in a biscuit tin. No wonder the old lady is irritated. Idiots. Anyway, I digress. Bendtner's knee is sore. Erm. Yeah.

Hull City are set to provide The FA with their dossier about the Cesc Fabregas/Brian Horton/We're just making stuff up now and have gone too far to back down incident. As usual Arseblog is ahead of game and can provide you, exclusively, with a copy of the letter Hull are sending to the powers that be.

To view simply click the thumbnail image (you may need to click again on the image that loads to view it at its full size). It's quite compelling, you have to say.

Robert Pires says Arsenal need more English players. I can see where's he's coming from but it looks like the balance he refers to will happen via young English players coming through from the youths rather than the manager going out and buying them.

Personally I think Arsenal need more evil robots with twirling helicopter style blades on the end of their arms like Maximilian from the original Battlestar Galactica the Black Hole film but English players are probably easier to come by.

Right then, that'll have to do for a Monday morning. Have at it, Arsers.

I have to confess that I only saw the first 15 minutes of the game last night, and then just the goals via 101greatgoals.

It was still enough to see our first goal in 946 hours of football. Nicklas Bendtner trickling one home with his left foot to put us 1-0 up. I also saw West Brom's equaliser, the first goal we've conceded in a long time too. A West Brom free kick in a dangerous position was made more dangerous by the fact Eboue broke away from the wall and the shot went through the wall right where he was supposed to be. 1-1.

But two further goals in the first half were enough to win the game. I mentioned West Brom's weakness at defending set-pieces and we took advantage when Kolo Toure headed home an Arshavin free kick, then Kolo's long ball sent Bendtner through and he slammed home his second of the night.

I can't tell you much else in terms of the game or the performance. Feel free to tell me, the arses are open, but the main thing is that we scored goals and won the game. The gap between us and Aston Villa is now just three points and they play tonight as we know.

Afterwards Arsene said:

The game was decided in the first half where all the important facts happened. In the second half we controlled the game and created more chances that we didn’t take but I thought goals four and five were there to be taken.

Goals four and five? Imagine. After the last few weeks I'm happy enough with three. Let's not to be too greedy here.

And two for Nicklas Bendtner who has come in for some criticism in recent months. Nevertheless, he's now scored 10 11 goals this season so despite some admittedly dodgy performances and some poor misses he does get his share. The manager was happy for him too, saying:

He has shown tonight he has the talent to be an Arsenal player and he’s on the right path to mature. I liked his presence, his determined attitude and I thought the way he took people on showed he has improved a lot.

No doubt there are still things he needs to work on in his game but I hope those goals will give his confidence a boost and maybe reduce some of the stick he gets. He's a 20 year old striker, there are very few 20 year old strikers in double figures for their top-flight clubs this season, I'd wager. Adebayor, one of our 'senior' strikers, has just 12, so that puts in perspective a little bit.

As I said though the main thing was the three points. That the win came with three goals is another positive, as is the fact we might have had more. Of course you can pick the bones out of any game and look for negatives but we've had enough of those over the last few weeks, right?

Now we've got a few days until our next game which is Burnley in the FA Cup and our next league fixture is Blackburn in 10 days time. Sandwiched between those two games is the 2nd leg of the Champions League tie against Roma.

It's not unrealistic to think that by the time we play Blackburn we'll have Walcott, Eduardo and Adebayor back in contention so the squad will have a good boost heading into the final stretch of the season.

So now we keep our fingers crossed that Man City can get a result against Villa tonight (albeit without Robinho or Craig Bellamy). If they do things will start to get really interesting.

Till tomorrow.

Good day to you all. We find ourselves in a kind of mini-Interlull with quite a number of our players in action for their countries tonight.

Last night saw Brazil play Italy at the Grove (2-0 Brazil) and a return to the old stomping ground for Gilberto Silva. He's enjoying life in Greece it seems, and nobody could begrudge him that. Speaking about the current Arsenal side and its troubles, he says:

It's only my opinion, and I could be proved wrong, but I think Arsenal made a mistake letting some of the more experienced players go. He thought it would be good for the development of the younger players. They're having to learn for themselves and that's hard. These players need to find that killer instinct. They can get there but it takes time. I hope it comes quickly.

It's proving a tall order for some of them and I wonder now does Wenger regret letting the Brazilian leave. Yes, he had found himself frozen out by the form of Flamini but last summer Flamini had gone, Diarra had gone in the January, and when Gilberto was allowed to leave everyone assumed a suitable replacement would be forthcoming.

We all know now it wasn't and I think we can all see what a mistake that was. What I wouldn't give now for his experience, his leadership, his ability to step up when needed. Remember when he captained the side in Henry's absence? Remember the fact he got into double figures in goals? When the team needed him he was there.

Now, in the absence of Cesc and with the others struggling to prove their readiness, he'd be a fantastic player to have in the squad. Now, I'm not saying he was perfect but he's better than what we have at the moment and I'll argue that with you till the cows come home.

It's a measure of the man too that despite how poorly he was treated, and I think he got a bum deal from Arsene Wenger, he remains a gentleman about the manager and about his time at Arsenal. I miss Gilberto.

Theo Walcott says he could be back in contention for the Champions League game against Roma. He's still in the rehab stages but the signs are good this could be the end of his shoulder problems. He's also looking forward to playing with the new boy, Andrei Arshavin, saying:

When he gets his fitness back up, he will be a top player for us definitely. I have seen him on YouTube a lot, watching how he plays, the balls he can spot. He can do unbelievable passes. He is going to be a good addition to the squad.

In the absence of newly crowned African Player of the Year, Emmanuel Adebayor, it's likely that Nicklas Bendtner will get the nod to partner Robin van Persie. As usual the big Dane is not short on self-confidence, saying:

I still feel that when I play my best, I should start, regardless of who is fit or who is injured. Of course, chances for me have improved with someone else out injured. But I still hope that he (Adebayor) will be back soon, as we need him in the team.

I think it's probably fair to say we haven't seen the best of Bendtner this season but he is only 20 years of age. His style does him no favours, he's a bit Kanu-esque in his loping about the pitch, but he doesn't have the tricks of the Nigerian to wow the crowd. But he's capable of scoring goals and while his return isn't great so far this season it's kind of on a par with the rest of the team.

When he had a run of games earlier in the season due to injuries elsewhere I think he'd admit he didn't do himself justice. Now we need him to take this new chance. Perhaps the increased competition for places up front will be a spur to all the forwards. Eduardo's coming back, Arshavin can play the 'number 10' role, Theo will be back and if Arshavin is starting at right midfield then he becomes an option up front, Carlos Vela is in the mix. 

If only we had those kind of options in other areas of the pitch. It wouldn't be a surprise to see Bendtner and Vela start against Cardiff. They seemed to have a good understanding in some of the Carling Cup games earlier in the season. Let's wait and see.

Arsenal Youth has some info on Amaury Bischoff PI scoring for Portugal U21s and some English players involved in the Arsenal U19 squad. 

Other than that it's pretty quiet so keep your fingers crossed our guys come through tonight's internationals without picking up any injuries, more tomorrow. 

Sometimes the most difficult thing about writing a blog is starting the post. You can use a greeting, reference a hard-hitting story or simply go on about how difficult it is to start the post. And here we are.

Let's begin with a rather strange story in The Sun. Apparently Bolton knew our line-up the other day well before the team sheets were handed in. An 'Arsenal insider' takes up the story:

When Arsene asked how that was possible the Bolton coach replied Bendtner told them. Goodness knows the trouble Nicklas would have been in if he hadn’t scored the winning goal.

Goodness knows, indeed. What an odd story though? Is Nicklas Bendtner a secret double-agent? Who would he tell? Did they promise him as many pink boots as he could eat? And did it really make any difference that they knew the team?

'Oi, Megson, here's the Arsenal team for today'.

'Oh my, look at the team they have selected. I could never have envisioned anything like this. Forget Plan A, our free-flowing total-football philosophy will never work today. It's Plan B, everyone defend like mad!'

Funnily enough I had a dream last night that Bendtner went on loan to Plymouth and scored 4 goals in a game. Actually, it wasn't funny at all.

The latest regarding Andrei Arshavin is that he reckons Arsenal would suit him. The owly looking one says:

In some games last season, we played football which was very similar to that of Arsenal. I would prefer my present No 10 but in the team where I hope to move it's not vacant. So I'm ready for any number they are going to offer me.

There are whispers, unconfirmed and unsubstantiated, possibly baseless and without any truth whatsoever, that he's due for a medical on Wednesday but I'm not holding my breath. We shall see.

Cesc Fabregas is hugely missed by this Arsenal team but is making the most of the his time off. He says:

In the last five years I haven't been able to take any kind of holiday because even during the summer I have been playing for the national team. I've only ever had three consecutive weeks without football. That's not normal for a 21-year-old.

For Arsenal and Spain at all levels I think I've played 270 games - for a 21-year-old that's not normal so I guess at one stage this had to happen.

When you step back and look at that it is phenomenal. Of course the injury was just bad luck and we do miss him but perhaps long-term it's a good thing that he can take some time off and recharge his batteries. I'm told he's somewhere enjoying the sunshine at the moment and fair play to him. Hopefully the team can keep going and ensure that we've still got something to play for on his return.

Meanwhile the Obafemi Martins has been linked with Arsenal, yet again, by his own agent who has practically raised his backside and presented himself, like a cat in heat, to Arsene Wenger. I've lost count of how many times Martins has been talked about as a possible transfer target for us, he's like the Sebastian Frey of the modern era, or something. Anyway, there's about as much chance of us signing Martins as there is of us signing me.

Also in the Sun this morning is a story suggesting we've made a £5m bid for Lazio centre-half Mobido Diakite. Apparently the Italians want £10m though. It's hard to know how much truth there is in a rumour like this but he's 21, French, has suffered a serious injury in recent times and has played less than ten league games in his career, so we're probably going to sign him.

And there you go. Not much else happening really. The transfer window is quiet for everyone, there's very little money being spent at this stage. I believe the hold-up for the Arshavin deal is the fact that we're still counting out the money from our coppers jar, it could take till Friday week, I'm told.

Till tomorrow.

Morning all,

my office is being lit by the moon this morning. Another week of nothing lies ahead until our next league game on Saturday, no doubt it'll be filled with transfer rumours and other guff but you do miss the mid-week games.

Arsene Wenger has been speaking about the Premier League and the lack of ambition shown by some teams. We saw Bolton's hugely negative approach on Saturday and according to the manager:

I don't believe the Premier League is the most exciting in the world now. When I arrived in 1996 teams came at you and there was space. Now it is harder. All the top teams have found it harder to score.

It's been a gradual thing, I suppose. Premier League survival is so important that anything goes in the quest to achieve that and over the years we've seen the growth of what you might call 'anti-football'. If the aim of most teams is to score more than the opposition and win the game, the mentality of these teams is 'Stop the opposition scoring and if we can nick a goal then fine'. It's something the boss understands though, saying:

When I see a team looking only to defend I just think we still have to be good enough to create the chances.

Which is fair enough but it's not nice to see a team do what Bolton did on Saturday. I understand their squad is limited and every point is precious so they have to cut their cloth accordingly, but it's not just smaller teams who have played this way. I can remember very clearly Everton doing the same, and they've been a top 6 team for the last few years, and Aston Villa, up until this season, played exactly the same way. They'd camp in their own half, get everyone behind the ball, and the height of their ambition was a point. 

The trouble is it's a very effective tactic. Even the best teams struggle to break down 11 defenders. If you get an early goal then it opens the game up as they have to come looking for something but if you get to 60 minutes and it's scoreless then it becomes a real problem. Those last 30 minutes can see one team dominate but if they defend well it's very difficult to score.  

So horrible as it is to watch why would these teams do any different? Is there any way to create incentives for teams to try and attack? Perhaps 2 points for a score draw? I dunno, but ultimately it comes down to what Wenger said, teams have to be good enough to make and take the chances which will make how their opponents play irrelevant.

Moving on to Bolton's Kevin Davies? He's accused Arsenal players of 'squealing', 'cheating', and being a 'bit embarrassing'.

He claims Arsenal players were trying to get him booked. As if the way he plays isn't enough. He has taken up the mantle of Alan Shearer as the Premier League's leading elbowist. He's clever at it too, like Shearer was, and over the years Arsenal players have been on the receiving end of his pointy middle-arm bits more than once. 

Yet he calls our players cheats. It's a bit rich. I like the physical side of football, it should be a contact sport, but the contact shouldn't be one players elbow with another player's face. It shouldn't over the ball and down someone's shin and ankle. For me that's proper cheating. 

The Sun quotes a Zenit 'insider' over Andrei Arshavin. He says:

Negotiations between the clubs about Arshavin are continuing. Since both sides want them to be successful, we should expect a good outcome soon — and certainly before the end of the transfer window.

Wow, there's some serious insight into how the deal is going. And it would hardly be a good outcome if it happened after the end of the transfer window, would it? 

Arsene Wenger on Nicklas Bendtner and his boots:

I am not convinced by the boots. But if he wears them and puts the ball in the net I do not mind.

While Robin van Persie had this to say about the Dane after his goal against Bolton:

He hadn't scored for a couple of months and wasn't so happy about that, but he is a quality player and if you are a quality player you always score. His confidence is back.

Surely quality players never not score, according to Robin. I mean, if you're quality and you always score then how come sometimes you don't score? Does that mean no player is quality or just half-quality? Qual, perhaps? Anyway, I know what he means. I think. And as much stick as Bendtner has got for his form and performances this season it's always good, and by always I mean the real always and not the Robin always, to have players who can nick you goals like Bendtner did against Bolton. 

Right then, that'll do for a Moonday morning. Till tomorrow. 

Games like yesterday make it easier to understand why Arsene Wenger is chasing Andrei Arshavin. When faced with a team who put every man behind the ball and do nothing but defend the more creativity and guile you have the better.

As it was we struggled against a Bolton side whose ambition stretched as far as a point. Gary Megson named just four subs as a message to his chairman that he needed money to buy players. As if the way his team played wasn't clear enough? Bolton are rubbish, bar Kevin Davies scattergunnning his elbows around the pitch they're the most forgettable bunch of players you'll ever see. Ok, once you hear Shittu's name he's difficult to forget but you know what I mean.

We dominated possession, I think the post-match stat was something like 71%-29% in our favour, but possession doesn't win you matches and we hardly peppered the Bolton goal. The only real chance I can remember from the first half was a Robin van Persie effort which looped way over the bar.

There was a bit more urgency to our play in the second half and we did manage to open them up a bit more, but not much. Adebayor had a great chance but delayed his shot which allowed Andy O'Brien to make a good block. Then van Persie made space for himself having controlled a heavy Adebayor flick, he got it onto his right foot but for once it wasn't quite accurate enough and his shot hit the post with the keeper beaten.

We brought on Nicklas Bendtner who was stuck out on the right hand side, hardly his best position. Still, he might have scored with his first touch, a la Sp*rs, when he headed right at Jaaskelainan. He then found himself on the end of some 'ironic' cheers after a successful short pass. A couple of previous efforts had gone astray. 

Then Robin van Persie got behind the Bolton defence on our left hand side, whipped in a brilliant cross to the far post and there was Bendtner sliding in to make it 1-0. I was glad for him, I have to say. He hasn't been good this season, the manager said afterwards that he's been struggling with an ankle injury, but it must have felt nice to score that after what had gone before.

Now, as much as we can see why we need creativity in the side, and any team would struggle without Walcott, Rosicky and Cesc, the perfect illustration of why this team needs defensive reinforcements came just moments after the goal. Bolton absolutely cut us apart, Kevin Davies only had Manuel Almunia to beat but his effort was tame, to say the least.

You wonder just what it is. Is it something psychological at this stage? Why is that we insist on making life difficult for ourselves? That should have been 1-1. Against better opposition it would have been. So while the manager can certainly justify his interest in Arshavin, moments like that justify fans clamouring for somebody to help shore up the defence.

As I said yesterday the most important thing was the points, then we could look at the performance. We got the points, at least. I know it's difficult to play against a team so defensive but you have to ask questions of some of players. I lost count of how many times Adebayor came deep, gave the ball wide, then watched as someone like Sagna crossed the ball into the box. He's 6'4, why isn't he in there trying to get his head on them?

I worry too about Abou Diaby. Now that he's got a chance to make his mark in his favourite position he seems to be doing little to convince that he's got what it takes. He had a poor game yesterday, so much so that he was shifted out to the left hand side and Nasri, who is clearly not a central player in my opinion, took his place in the middle - and was better. After a couple of minutes on the left Diaby was replaced by Vela. Those are the kinds of games he should be using to make a real impact and it seems beyond him, sadly.

Still, we can't argue with the result, we've struggled against teams like this in the past with better players in red and white, and our unbeaten run now stretches to seven league games and we kept what I'm reliably informed was a 'clean sheet'.

Next up in the league is a trip to Hull to look for revenge for their win at the Grove. Villa won yesterday so remain three points ahead of us. United v Chelsea today should be interesting, we're level on points with United but they have three games in hand.

Right, rounding up the Sunday news and gossip it seems Manchester City are 'fuming' with Arsenal over the whole Kolo Toure thing. They claim City were told to wait 7-10 days after tabling a bid for Kolo but then told Arsenal wouldn't be selling after Gallas got injured. Such is life.

It seems that they're so cross with us they're going to hijack our bid for Andrei Arshavin. Arshavin's agent says:

There are 10, 15, 20 teams who are interested in him. The question is, can they afford him?

Pfff, it seems fairly obvious that there's only one team interested in Arshavin at the moment and that's us. With Zenit playing silly buggers in negotiations I wouldn't be surprised if this dragged on for the entire duration of the transfer window. 

The News of the World links us with Argentine 'hardman' Sebastian Battaglia. He plays for Boca Juniors. Beyond that I know nothing. 

The Mirror says we're after Jimmy Bullard (imagine) and a young defender called Jack Collison, who plays for West Ham. The names just keep mounting up. 

And that's about that. Time for some breakfast, the Sunday papers, then some football before a game of 5-a-side later. Till tomorrow.