The football just keeps coming with Champions League action tomorrow night. There'll be a press conference and team news today so we can preview the game properly tomorrow.

A win would assure qualification for the knock-out stage of the competition so there'll be no rest for the main men. Robin van Persie will lead the line again and after two goals against Sp*rs the manager seems to think 25 goals for the season is an achievable target for him. He says:

I don’t want to set targets but why not? If you look at the chances he has had since the start of the season you cannot say he won’t reach 25 goals.

Robin has taken much more responsibility because he is up front. He has committed himself to the club for a long period and he is at an age, 26, where a footballer becomes really efficient, mature and wants to win things.

It's not hard to see the connection between his improvement in terms of scoring goals and the fact that he's, you know, not crippled on a near constant basis. I always felt he was a bit unlucky with his injuries. He wasn't a Michael Owen, for example, whose hamstrings were made of frayed rubber bands. He seemed to pick up a lot of reasonably serious injuries through impact. There was the knee when he played for Holland and he landed funny, the metatarsal after scoring against United, and on top of that a lack of patience which saw him come back a couple of times too early and suffer setbacks as a consequence.

He was fit for the majority of last season and he had his best ever return. If he stays fit again for the bulk of this term then there's no reason why he can't do better. It's clear now he's getting used to the new role he's been asked to play, he says himself he's found a balance which allows him to be more efficient, and while Match of the Day spend their time asking which of Torres, Rooney or Drogba is the best striker in the Premier League, I'm quite content to watch Robin bang the goals in without the hype. He's got to ensure that the efficiency he's found lasts the duration of the season but to me there's no doubt he's got the potential to become the kind of goalscorer a top club needs.

Meanwhile Andrei Arshavin says that the win over Sp*rs shows Arsenal have put the blip of West Ham behind them. He says:

What I liked in this game is that at half-time were were sure we could end as winners. We were not nervous. There was a sense that the opponents couldn't equalise and that we wouldn't lose our lead.

Quite why there wasn't that sense at Upton Park is something you'd have to ask the little Russian. I have to say I was a bit disappointed with him on Saturday. He seems to be off the pace in recent games and perhaps we could expect a little more from him. When I saw him last in the flesh against Boro last season he was so fascinating to watch. He communicated, told players where to put the ball, where to go to receive it, and generally put in a good shift. Against Sp*rs there wasn't much of that, if any at all.

I know he's the kind of player who can give you something out of nothing, and I'm not criticising here, merely observing, but perhaps there's just a bit too much nothing at the moment and not enough something. Maybe he's carrying a bit of a knock, which would explain things a bit, but there's also the sense that fitness is not exactly his strong point and that's an area he could improve. Anyway, hopefully it's just a little bit of a lull and things will pick up as the season progresses. He might be just pacing himself so he can last till May. What with his fitness and that.

Kieran Gibbs, rather prematurely tipped for England by Arsene Wenger I thought, has spoken about that and how nice to see a footballer with his head screwed firmly on his shoulders. He says he can't even begin to think about England until he does more for Arsenal. Refreshing and intelligent. Maybe it's the intelligence that's refreshing. It's why Almunia's repeated comments about playing for England never really sat right with me. It was all newspaper hype really and he should have just concentrated on doing well for Arsenal instead of getting sucked into tripe like that.

Stan Kroenke has had his chequebook out again. The American has bought another 427 shares taking his overall shareholding to 29.6%, edging ever closer to that mythical 29.9% which would require him to make an offer for all the shares. On the new purchase the Arsenal Supporters Trust say:

The AST’s own assessment of today’s development is that a takeover is not imminent and that today’s purchase is the consolidation of an existing position.

And I'd agree with that although you have to think the closer he gets to the 29.9% the more likely it is that something will happen. But just because he has that shareholding doesn't mean others are under any obligation to sell to him, so unless there's some serious dialogue going on behind the scenes about willingness to sell to Kroenke I can't see any takeover happening in the near future.

In other news Emmanuel Eboue says he'd play for PSG if they made an offer for him next summer while Abou Diaby talks Champions League.

Arsenal reserves lost their first game of the season, a 2-0 'home' defeat by Portsmouth.

And that's that. A full preview of the game against AZ tomorrow, any breaking team news during the day will probably be Twittered, if that's your thing.

Have a good one.

Morning all,

Arsenal moved into the top four yesterday with a good win over Birmingham, but it wasn't quite as comfortable as we would have liked. We started well, pretty much bossed the game and it was no surprise when in the 15th minute Robin van Persie put us ahead. Collecting a low, hard pass from Alex Song his first touch was quite brilliant and his finish first class. A goal for us and a goal for him to celebrate the arrival of his new baby in midweek - that's 5 for the season and a goal in each of his last four games now too. Just the kind of scoring we need from him in the position he's in.

It was two just a couple of moments later. Eboue broke down the right, played a nice little ball outside the full back to Rosicky who pulled it across goal and Abou Diaby arrived at the back post to slam it home. A very tidy finish and Diaby had a good game overall yesterday.

Having been on the end of a rather vigorous challenge earlier in the game Theo Walcott only lasted half an hour and was replaced by Andrei Arshavin. Arsene Wenger wasn't happy with it after the game, obviously because Theo's injury is as yet an unknown quantity, but Ridgewell played the ball and frankly if one of our centre-halves had made that kind of tackle I'd defend their right to do so. It was strong and hard, but that's football. Theo faces a scan so fingers crossed it's nothing too serious, he is unlikely to play midweek though.

As an attacking force Birmingham, with their new owner looking on, were nothing to write home about. Mannone made a bit of a meal of a Larsson free kick and that was about their only shot on goal that I can remember. Nevertheless we went in at half-time with just a one goal lead. Mannone failed to deal with a fairly bread and butter ball in the area, it fell to Lee Bowyer and football's very own Orc slammed it home.

It made the second half a much more nervous affair than it really should have been. We never really looked as fluid as we did pre-Interlull, but all the same there were chances. Arshavin amazingly put one wide from inside the 6-yard box, but to be fair it was a snap shot on the turn, Joe Hart played a pass straight to Cesc who couldn't get it back across goal, a free kick from about 7 yards after the ref deemed Hart had picked up a back-pass cannoned back off the bar from van Persie and another van Persie free kick went inches wide of the post.

And for all that there was just the one goal lead. Birmingham pressed and might well have equalised. A ball over the defence found Ridgewell at the back post, he skimmed in a cross which would have been a tap-in had Mannone not made up for his earlier error and got fingertips to it. Gallas hacked it clear. 

Yesterday though I spoke about Andrei Arshavin and in the end it was the Russian who made the game safe. We broke out of defence, Cesc gave him the ball, he wandered into the Birmingham area and casually as you like curled it into the bottom corner. That's the touch of quality and experience that can be the difference between winning a game and holding your head in your hands as some poxbottle grabs a late equaliser for them. And last season that would have been a real fear. How often did we dominate games but not close them off? Arshavin's 5th of the season made sure. 

Overall a good result, especially when you consider Chelsea and Liverpool both got beaten yesterday, and a nice way to ease ourselves back into action. Afterwards Arsene Wenger said:

In the end I still believe 3-1 is a fair result because we had plenty of chances. I feel also we tried to force the situation a little bit individually, especially in the second half, and that's why we didn't score more goals.

More goals would have been nice but yesterday was all about the three points. All the same we kept up our 3 goal a game league average which really is remarkable this far into the season. Next up in the league is a trip to West Ham this day week.

In a very brief Sunday round-up Gael Clichy talks to The Times and ... erm ... that's about it. Only a couple of days till the next game though, Champions League action in Holland.

Have a good Sunday.

Well here we are. It's almost Football O'Clock.

As per usual Arsene spoke to the media yesterday so there are bits and pieces from that to get through. More up to date team news sees us without Eduardo, as expected, Carlos Vela, as expected due to his travel arrangements, Nicklas Bendtner who picked up an injury in training and Gael Clichy who will be replaced by Kieran Gibbs.

It's a good chance for the young man to start really pressuring Clichy who has not had a good season and over whom worries, if not doubts, grow. He's got the backing of the manager who says:

I believe he has the quality to be the England left back. I have said that for a long time. He is still very young. He has a lack of experience but has the quality. For him now it is to consistently play.

And here's his chance. A good performance or two will really turn up the heat on Clichy and there's no problem for a manager quite like the one when he's struggling to choose between two players for the same position who are in good form.

The goalkeeping situation has changed since the other day too. Initially Fabianski was back and in the squad with Almunia rated only 50-50, but this morning the Pole isn't quite ready while the Spaniard is back in the squad. Arsene was asked who would play in goals and normally you would think that when your number 1 keeper comes back after an absence he'd be straight back in, but there was no such guarantee for Almunia.

Personally I think he'll play but he knows there's absolutely no margin for error now. Not only does he have competition from Fabianski, who was given a new contract last summer, but also Don Vito who has shown he's got potential too when thrust into the team in recent weeks. I do wonder if there's been an element of Almunia being sent away to get his head right or something but if he does get back into the team he knows he's got to perform if he wants to stay there. And that is probably no bad thing.

Today's game allows to start where we left off before the international break. With all due respect to Birmingham this is the kind of game you have to win if you want to challenge for the title. It's not going be easy. Birmingham are big and physical but then so were Blackburn and to a lesser extent Wigan and Portsmouth and we dealt with them comfortably enough. Of course there are no 'bankers' in the Premier League, I said bankers, but this is a game you would expect to win. 

In other news Henry Winter talks to Andrei Arshavin in the Telegraph. The Russian really is an interesting character and one that this team needed, I think. Somebody to bring experience but also cohesion to the group. He says:

We must improve our character. When we played Man United this season, they just showed character and it was enough to beat us. We must have confidence in each other. We are very friendly off the pitch but we must be stronger and trust in ourselves a little bit more. We must believe more. The confidence is coming but sometimes it seems to me we don’t have enough.

And all the young players with all the potential in the world can't make up for somebody with the desire or the spirit that Arshavin appears to have. A guy like that in any team, from Sunday park football to the top flight, is absolutely invaluable. And when he's a quality footballer too all the better. The more he plays the better he'll be and when he really starts to click with Cesc, van Persie, Rosicky etc, then it's going to be something to behold.

The boss also spoke about referees yesterday. One of the journos at the press conference was, rather naively, trying to get him to talk about Alex Ferguson and Alan Wiley, hoping for a soundbite to turn into a backpage headline, but Wenger is too smart for that. He did, however, suggest there's an over-familiarity between some refs and some players/managers. And he's right. Remember Graham Poll, the ultimate star-fucker who wanted to be friends with the players rather than the official and ultimately that's bad for the game. Alan Wiley sharing a joke with Ferguson at the Manchester derby just before United's late winner. Refs not booking England players despite the England player telling them where to go in the most industrial language imaginable.

A couple of examples but there are many more. There should be more distance between refs and those taking part, either as manager or player. We all want to see a ref who communicates with players on the pitch but using a player's nickname is not right. You can have a good dialogue without being servile and some of them are. Interesting comments from Wenger, and as today's official is the unctious little toerag who, as 4th official, shopped AW to Mike Dean during the United game for the vicious kicking of a water bottle, I suspect there'll be plenty of distance between officials and competitors today.

And that's really about that. I'm going to breakfast then keep myself busy with a trip into town before the match. Here's to a good win and three points and a happy Sunday blog tomorrow.

Till then.

As we don't play until tomorrow it means there's no point previewing the game today. Because the game is tomorrow. And if I preview it today it means tomorrow's blog is going to be rather brief. I may have to get creative and just post a drawing I did or something. And as my scanner is bollixed it'd have to be a drawing I did with the mouse which will make that drawing look like it was done by Dribbly O'Toole, the club-footed window licker with the strength of ten men and a series of unfortunate moles all over his face. 

Nobody needs that. Apart from Dribbly's mum but she's so lost in a haze of daytime TV and cheap Shiraz she'll never even notice.

Anyway, Arsene Wenger met the media yesterday, as is the norm, and they asked him questions and he answered those questions and from those answers come 'articles' which contain the words of the answers to the questions he was asked.

Obviously there was a bit of chat about him seeing as he's now Arsenal's longest serving manager. And despite the fact a man of his experience and undoubted wealth could go out to his local laurel emporium and buy a shit load of laurels to rest on he's not going to do that. He says:

I question myself every day. I question myself every time and ask how I can be better, how can I improve and how can I get this team to achieve what I believe is in them.

It's common amongst great people to do that. I question myself every single day. It's true.

"Where the fuck are my keys?", "What did you do that for?", "Why don't you sort your life out?" and "Would you please shut the fuck up? I'm trying to find my keys" amongst the most common.

Of course Arsene can't go on forever and he's hinted that Thierry Henry might be the right man to take the Arsenal hot-seat at some point in the future. He said:

Being a manager is a sacrifice for the rest of your life, not everybody is ready for that. It's nothing to do with intelligence or capabilities. But certainly Thierry is obsessed with football, yes. He even watched our Reserve team on television last year.

Pffff, I watched the reserves last week and Henry is busy playing for some bunch of Spanish mumphounds and going around with Tiger Woods and Roger Federer having cosy 'Let's shave each other' parties for Gillette. Note the subtle product placement there? Apparently it's the best a man can get. I don't shave very often though. It's annoying. What was my point? See, there I go questioning myself again.

The boss spoke about Andrei Arshavin in glowing terms. More glowing than the Russian's cheeks after five minutes of a game. He said:

I believe he has a big challenge in front of him because he made his team in Russia, St Petersburg win, and if he manages to make Arsenal win he will become an all-time great.I just love Arshavin as a footballer because he has things that are just down to him.

He is intelligent and he looks like he is a shrewd street-player because he creates something always in unexpected situations. He has a low centre of gravity, great pace and tricky dribble. He uses all that he has in the locker in an intelligent way and don't forget he is a winner as well.

Some players are blessed with that low centre of gravity, mostly because they're closer to the ground than others. Did Kanu have a high centre of gravity? If you cut a length of Peter Crouch's legs off and stitched him back together would he have a low centre of gravity or would he just be a crippled, disgustingly scarred freak? It's an experiment worth considering either way.

But Arshavin. There's lots to love about him. He's brought an Owlishness to our team which we've never had before. I often thought Francis Jeffers looked a bit like a Double-crested Cormorant but the Russian can do things with a ball that Jeffers could only dream about doing as he lay on the physio's couch. We should probably have had him put down, you know. It would have been best for all. I'm straying off point again, aren't I? 

I do agree with Arsene though. This is a big season for Andrei, he's one of the most experienced players in the team, possibly the best player in the team, and he's simply got to win us a trophy single-handedly or we'll have him Jeffersed. In the face. 

AW was also bigging up Big Dane Nicklas Bendnter. Now that he's like that bloke from that film about that plane that crashed and he was the only survivor and he went a bit mental with that one who speaks with that really awful voice, you have to hope it will liberate him a bit. A bit of 'devil may care' in his performances which should bring about more goals. The manager certainly has a lot of confidence in him, let's hope he repays that. With goals. And possibly a rocket of a shot which smashes David Dunn's stupid big head in tomorrow.

I hate his stupid big head. It's like an inflated cartoon head. Stick a couple of handles on the top of it and you could use it as a space hopper. 

Right, that will have to do. I've got cold pizza and Playstation ahead of me this morning. And no, you can't come over. 

I'm too grumpy for vistors.

Morning, today's the day we find out about Cesc's injury with Arsene Wenger already admitting the captain is unlikely to play against Celtic tomorrow night.

The Mail is reporting that he's going to be out for three weeks, which would see him miss the United game, but we'll have to just wait and see. Most of what you read in the Mail should be taken with a hefty pinch of salt. The difficulty is that after the United game we head into a pesky Interlull and if we manage to get him through that game there's no chance for him to rest. Spain will be quite within their rights to call him up. 

Arsene may have to think a bit beyond United in terms of this one. If he declares him injured it'll mean Cesc can avoid international duty and recover properly before the visit to the other, richer, part of Manchester on September 12th. I have to think the manager will err on the side of caution here. It's early in the season and we'd be better off ensuring he's fully fit and ready for the rest of the campaign instead of trying to nurse him through an injury which could get worse.

The Mail further speculates that to cover Cesc's as yet unconfirmed absence we'll 'step up' our pursuit of St Etienne midfielder Blaise Matuidi. I'm pinching salt again here but with just a week to go until the transfer window closes speculation and rumour will hit fever pitch, I'm sure.

This despite the manager calling his squad 'massive'. He cites the absence of players like Nasri, Rosicky, Senderos, Wilshere, Vela and Djourou from the Portsmouth squad as evidence as the size of the squad, and when you look at it that way he has a point, I suppose. Nevertheless the departure of Commander Worf from Everton to Man City may finally see the Senderos deal go through and there's still the feeling that we could strengthen in defensive areas, maybe in both midfield and at centre-half.

And if injuries took their toll last season, and the season before, and, indeed, the season before that, shouldn't we be prepared for the same thing to happen this time around? If it doesn't then the manager is left with the best kind of problem he can have - a strong, competitive squad with plenty of quality in reserve. Seven days and counting, let's see.

Andrei Arshavin is digging the new Arsenal formation. He did speak last season about not really enjoying life on the left but things are different now. He says:

I used to play on the left-hand side of a four-man midfield but we've gone to three in the middle and that has helped me become more of an attacking player. We can move anywhere depending on the situation in front of us. If I see an opportunity I can exploit on the right-hand side of the pitch I'll go over and take advantage of it.

Funnily enough I think it's the forward players who are taking longest to adapt to the new formation. The extra midfielder is providing the likes of Denilson, Diaby, Song and Cesc more freedom, more space, more options in front of them, but with only one goal from the 12 we've scored so far this season coming from a striker it's clear the lads up top are still getting used to things. When they do click, however, I'm expecting us to win every game by at least nine goals. Otherwise that French chancer who thinks he knows how to manage a football club can do one.

Emmanuel Petit compares Abou Diaby to Patrick Vieira but says that before you can compare them Diaby needs to needs to perform to a Vieira level for a couple of years and win some trophies at Arsenal. Right. Erm ...

Ivan Gazidis talks about the Arsenalisation (proof that we're not an American corporation as otherwise it'd be Arsenalization, right?) of the Grove and the efforts to make the new home more Arsenalised. See? He says:

Listening to our fans, we were hearing a consistent message that, while Emirates is a superb modern stadium, they want us to make it more of a home. Ultimately it’s our fans’ house, so we’ve listened to that and taken steps over the last months to engage them in a process of discussion about what these ideas should be - and then to implement as many of them as we can early on in the new season.

The ideas, such as the naming of different areas instead of them being quadrants, are long overdue and it's good that the club are listening to the fans and responding to the feedback. If I could choose any one thing to change though it'd be getting rid of that poxy Elvis song beforehand. It really has nothing to do with Arsenal, I've always thought if a club has its own anthem it's something that has developed over time, and it's little wonder the atmosphere is a bit subdued when you're playing a sleepy old tune like beforehand.

Personally I'd go with something much more upbeat, something to get the crowd really worked up - like this. Or this (heh). Or maybe we could have a custom made song called 'We are the Arsenal, let's kick the fuck out of these cockgorgons today'. But there's gotta be something better than Elvis. Like silence.

Right, that'll be about that. A fuller preview of the Celtic game tomorrow and, of course, we'll have the low down on the injury news. Till then.

Morning, and we'll start with CEO Ivan Gazidis who says Arsenal must ... oh, wait. No need.

Let's move instead to Felipe Melo who, it seems, has signed for Juventus. This comes after yet more waffle from Fiorentina who spoke again of our interest and the deal seemingly on offer. Pantalones Calzone, the Fiorentina Sporting and Folded Over Pizza director, said:

Wenger wants to talk to me. I have no objection also because Eboue seems a valid swap.

Which all seemed very promising, particularly as he said no meetings with Juventus were planned at all. But obviously the stripy bastards got on the phone, did a deal and now it looks as if Melo will be announced officially there today. 

Oh well. I mean, if he wants to ignore Gilberto Silva and sign for a tiny club with no history who play in front of a half dozen people each weekend then there's not much we can do about that, is there? I suppose we'll wait for the official announcement from them but it looks like the game is up.

There were a lot of rumours yesterday about St Etienne's Blaise Matuidi being in town and discussing a move to us but rumours is all they are at this stage.

And in this crazy, topsy-turvy summer there was more confusion regarding Andrei Arshavin's relationship with agent Dennis Lachter. Arshavin apparently fired Lachter the other week but the agent has other ideas, saying:

We have a contract; this contract will be finished in one and a half years. Until then, I am the manager of Andrey Arshavin.

He sent me a letter, absolutely. Listen, it’s like entering a contract with Arsenal or anybody else; there are obligations. If you think that you can just cancel this formal relationship between two parties only because of a newborn baby it’s…what can you say…well you can’t do it. That’s it. I’m his agent.

He went on to say:

Arshavin for sale! Arshavin for sale! Get your Arshavin! Only £20m! Barcelona? That you? Fancy an Arshavin? Go on, you know you want to.

Strikes me agents are like ticks. I remember years ago, as young chap, playing gleefully in bails on hay one summer. You know the big huge ones rolled into massive wheels. Climb up. Jump off. Climb up. Jump off. Climb up. Jump off. Life was much more simple back then.

Of course the farmer was none too happy when his perfectly crafted wheel looked more like ... erm ... a load of hay scattered all over his field, but the point is when I got home, happy as anything after a good day's playing, I discovered ticks. Eating me. Bleurgh. And when you have ticks you have to get the whole lot of it out, if you just burst the bit full of blood and leave the head in it will keep chomping away at you. Especially the one positioned rather too close to one's vagi  .. I mean Johnson. 

Lachter is the tick still scoffing away at Arshavin. A letter merely removes the bloody sac but the head is still there. He needs a burning match to scorch the arse out of it. Metaphorically speaking of course. Erm, that all went a bit weird, but I'm sure you know what I mean. 

Anyway, Andrei was back in training yesterday, running about the place, stretching out with giant rubbers and playing with large balls. Seriously. You can check out the pictures of pre-season training on Arsenal.com

Notable appearances include Philippe Senderos, back from his loan spell at Milan, as well as Tomas Rosicky and Eduardo who we all hope can stay fit and make a real impact in the season ahead. It also looks as if some of the players, Adebayor, van Persie, Clichy, Sagna, Toure, Eboue and others have been given extended holidays, probably because of their involvement in end of season internationals.

Also, new boy Thomas Vermaelen looks tough, doesn't he? He definitely has the cold dead eyes of an assassin. I like it. 

Expect some more Cesc related crap to hit the wires later as El Mundo are running a big story this morning about how Barcelona's are going to sign either him or Ribery. They talk about how certain sources close to Arsenal say we'd be willing to let him go for €46m but Barcelona only want to pay €40m. Well, in that case they can go take a jump. Anyway, forewarned is forearmed and all that.

Beyond that not much happening so we'll leave it there for today. Till tomorrow.

Happy Sunday to you all.

Some interesting stuff going on, particularly in regard to Felipe Melo. As we all know he just signed a new contract extension with Fiorentina which seemed to rule him out of making any kind of move this summer. However, yesterday the Italian club countered rumours in the Italian press that the player was about to sign for Juventus and released a statement on their official website saying Arsenal were the only club to come close to making an offer close to the new buy-out clause.

And not only that, they've proposed we make up some of the difference by adding Emmanuel Eboue to the deal. I don't know about you but that seems like a rather good deal to me. We get the defensive midfielder we've been looking for, and a player who divides opinion like no other (apart from maybe the other Emmanuel) moves on.

Of course we may find this deal floundering due to the fact that Fiorentina are not one of the biggest and greatest clubs in Italy and does not befit a talent such as Eboue, according to his agent, but this would be the deal of the summer if it happened.

Meanwhile Emmanuel Adebayor hasn't exactly commited himself to Arsenal as some reports have suggested. The Observer rang up his agent, Stephane Courbis, and asked him if Adebayor wanted to leave. He said 'No. No. It's the same situation as last week'.

So really nothing's changed. The agent can't very well come and say 'He wants to leave' right at this moment. Arsene Wenger has been exactly effusive about him staying. 'He can go if he wants' is not quite the ringing endorsement of one's services a player likes to hear and I think there's plenty of this story to run yet. Even with his attempts to attract a buyer with his own Michael Owen style brochure (in case you missed it yesterday).

However, the Mirror has got to get this Sunday's award for least believable rumour of the day. Milan are willing to take Adebayor, pay us £20m and give us Mathieu Flamini as part of the deal. Even though Flamini upset a few people with the way he left the club that deal, if it were even remotely true, is a no-brainer.

El Mundo are keeping up the Arshavin to Barcelona stuff by running another article this morning saying he'd be the fans favourite signing of the summer. Zzzzz. Here's a question though - we know Arshavin got rid of his agent, if a club is interested in a player who acts as his own agent, is it double-tapping up if they ring up and ask him to ask himself if he's interested in a move?

And that's about all there is this morning. Pre-season training starts tomorrow for the majority of the players, no doubt we'll get a picture special on the official site so we can point and laugh and say 'God, look at all those Mickey Quinns waddling about the training pitch after a summer of fish and chips and pints of ale'.

Can't wait.

Here we go again.

The News feeds are full of 'Arshavin to Barcelona' stories based on a the smallest article in this morning's Sun, which comes with a handy quote to provide authenticity. I have nothing to say about this.

Of course Los Muppetos in the Spanish papers will see this then start running stories about 'Accoring to the English press Arshavin wants to play for Barcelona' and it will spin and spiral and ... well, you know how these things go.

It's already the main story on the El Mundo website. 

*sigh*

Turkish defender Serdar Tasci (with a funny bit on the c) says he's flattered that Arsenal are interested in him. He's currently playing for Stuttgart. I don't know too much about him specifically but given the whispers I'm hearing the arrival of another central defender wouldn't be a surprise.

Do you know I am being plagued this morning by the most retarded bluebottle of all time? He's buzzing into the side of the window that is closed, then reaching the bit that is open, looking out, seeing the fresh air, then going back to the other side to smash his head off the closed bit again. I hate those things.

There was no final joy for Kieran Gibbs and Theo Walcott last night as England lost 4-0 to Germany. That is what you call a paddling. Anyway, they've got their holidays now so hopefully they'll get a good rest before joining up for pre-season training.

There's literally nothing else happening this morning. I'm off to batten down the hatches, refuse to read any of the stuff about how we'd be better if we sold Arshavin anyway, the ungrateful twat, and enjoy some of this sunshine. 

Remember, if you want Arseblog delivered to your email every morning you can subscribe to the mailing list here, or for more random stuff follow Arseblog on Twitter.

Till tomorrow.

Amidst all the guff and flapdoodle that has gone on this week there's the small matter of a game of football today.

It's hardly one we'd choose to be playing at the moment but what can you do? We face Manchester United today in a game which could see them crowned champions. They need just a point and you only have to stop and think about it if it were the other way around (haha, as if - joking!) to know how up for it they're going to be.

They'll be desperate to win the league at home and have a big old celebration in front of their own fans. Arsene spoke in the week about how this game was a chance to restore some pride, and he's right. Another capitulation would be rather too much to take. On the other hand a performance and a win might dampen down the negativity that's clouding the club, and the manager in particular, at the moment. 

On today's encounter, Cesc says:

It will be hard to clap United off the pitch as champions and we will do all we can to make them wait another week for the title. But if we have to do it, we will. We have to be men about these things and they deserve to be champions.

Entirely correct. And on the season in general, he says: 

We have a very big job to do and we didn’t do it well enough. We all feel we could have done better and maybe some things have to change before we start winning things again.

What those things are remain to be seen but I think we all have a good idea. He goes on to reaffirm his commitment to the club, dismissing talk of leaving in the summer (for about the 956464th time, it has to be said), and hopefully we'll have a season next time where we see the very best of Cesc. This one, for various reasons which I may go into at a later date, will be one he'll want to forget, I'm sure.

Anyway, today's game. I'd be inclined to have a right go at them. Why not? We've got nothing to lose, and with the players available I'd play the following team:

Fabianski - Sagna - Toure - Djourou - Gibbs - Walcott - Song - Cesc - Nasri - Arshavin - Bendtner

That's a traditional 4-4-2, or 4-4-1-1 with Arshavin just behind big Nick. Adebayor was dropped for the Chelsea game, sadly from not a great enough height, and his pathetic diving hardly merits a recall. Bendtner came on, worked hard, scored a goal and looked dangerous. He deserves his start.

It doesn't really need any kind of tactical analysis. United will throw the kitchen sink at a defence they know is shaky, we need more of what we saw in the first 25 minutes of the Chelsea game, but with better finishing.

I can't say I'm overly confident but this is football, you never know.  

Andrei Arshavin has been talking to Martin Samuel of the Daily Mail. It's interesting stuff, he tips Arsenal to win things very soon, reaping the benefits of having young players who have grown in experience but he also believes, like most of us, that the squad must be supplemented with players who have been there, done that and worn the t-shirt until it's gone from black to a kind of faded, bluey grey. He says:

We must buy in the summer. Not more potential, but players who are ready to do it now, players like me. We need two or three. If Arsenal want to win, they have to do it. We are tired of waiting.

Exactly right. One of the things that got lost in all the other stuff this week was Arsene, when asked who his transfer targets for the summer were, spoke not about individual players (obviously) but the type of player he was looking for. His answer was that he would be looking for players of experience and yesterday he said:

There is money available to buy. Where do I buy or who, that is difficult to speak about because if you come out with that you pay double price. We are rich, but we are not rich enough to do that. However, we will buy.

But that's twice he's stressed that he wouldn't be buying more potential. Which, of course, is a good thing. Anyway, the Arshavin article is interesting ... when he's talking about football.

Anyway, that's about that. There's other Wenger stuff out there but I said pretty much all I had to say on that in yesterday's blog. The shareholders have had their say, Arsene has had his, now it's time to step back, calm down a bit, and let the man get on with his job.

Fingers crossed for today. I do hope there's a response from the players, as a team I think they owe the manager and the fans a performance, and given the circumstances at Old Trafford today it would raise spirits a little bit if we could delay United's fireworks for a week.

Till tomorrow. 

It's hard to know what to say after what was an extraordinary game of football. Despite the fact that Liverpool had more chances, more possession and might have scored more goals than us, the overriding feeling I have is of disappointment that we couldn't hang on given the position we got ourselves in. Or, I might say, the position Andrei Arshavin got us in.

Liverpool might have scored in the first half, Fabianski making a couple of good saves, but we went ahead in the 36th minute when Nasri and Cesc combined to play in Arshavin whose left footed finish went in off the bar. Liverpool were looking for offside, to me the linesman got it right and kept his flag down.

The Mugsmashers obviously got a good talking to at half-time because they came out fired up and took full advantage of our defensive frailties. Bacary Sagna, who didn't look fully recovered from his illness, made a poor clearance which fell to Dirk Kuyt. His first cross was blocked but his second found Fernando Torres who out-jumped Sagna and scored.

Their second came from more poor play at the back. Sylvester made a soft backpass to Fabianski who was unable to clear it long so played it to Kieran Gibbs who got caught on the ball. Again it was Kuyt who crossed and Benayoun headed in despite Sagna's attempts to clear it/kick Benayoun's head off his shoulders.

We were under severe pressure as Liverpool looked to kill things off. They had a series of dangerous free kicks and corners which we just about dealt with. Something had to change and Theo Walcott came on for Denilson who had another poor game last night. To me it looks as if he's all out of gas, as you might say. He's played a lot of football this season, he looks physically and mentally jaded, and to be honest it'd probably be best if he was rested unless his presence was absolutely necessary.

Then the madness really started. Arshavin robbed Arbeloa about 30 yards from goal, drove forward, and unleashed an incredible shot which fizzed past Reina. It reminded me of a goal Henry scored against Man City a few seasons back. You knew it was in from the moment it left his boot. A fantastic goal from a fantastic player.

The Russian then got his hat-trick when a Nasri cross was poorly cleared by Aurelio and he gratefully slammed it home to make it 3-2 to Arsenal. However, as dynamic and inspirational Arshavin was up front, the Arsenal defence was quite the opposite. They often trot out that cliché about how you're at your most vulnerable just after you've scored but with this Arsenal team it's sadly true.

We had barely been ahead two minutes when Torres twisted and turned away from Sylvester way too easily and fired a shot which Fabianski reached but couldn't keep out. He nearly put Liverpool ahead from a corner but Kieran Gibbs headed off the line. He's making a habit of that, the young man, and it's a good habit to have.

With Liverpool pressing to score the goal that would keep them in the title race we went ahead again. The ball broke from a corner at our end to Theo Walcott. He took it on with no support. That was until Arshavin came racing forward. In the 89th minute, after a hard-fought game, he busted his balls to get forward. Theo played him in and did anyone, after the night he'd had, doubt him for a second? He lashed home a left-footed shot to make it 4-3 and that goal should have won the game for us.

Again the defence let us down. We seemed to have any number of chances to put our foot through it and clear it but it didn't happen. Just two minutes after Arshavin's goal the ball was played into our box, it went to the far post, was headed back into the middle where two unmarked Liverpool players were waiting. Benayoun couldn't miss from there and made it 4-4. It was all too reminiscent of last season when we failed to hold onto a lead and really, to have two men unmarked in our box like that, at that stage of the game, is just unforgivable.

To be involved in one 4-4 in a season might be considered a fluke. To throw away a leading position, in injury time, in two 4-4 draws in one season smacks of carelessness and negligence and requires close examination by the manager.

Even then there was time for something else. Cesc was given offside after a flowing Arsenal move and I'd like to see that again. Sky didn't show any replays at all and his finish through Reina's legs didn't count. I'm suspicious about that offside. Add to that Bendtner's perfectly legitimate and smartly taken goal disallowed at 3-3 and maybe we didn't get the decisions tonight.

Afterwards Arsene said:

We are half-happy because we scored four goals but we are half-unhappy because we conceded four. As well, to be 4-3 up with two minutes to go, the team is disappointed.

And the fans too Arsene. On the face of it a draw is a good result but you can't help thinking that you shouldn't just draw when you go to Anfield and score four goals. On the other hand you don't expect to get anything from a game when you go to Anfield and concede four either, so there is that side of it.

The bottom line though is that it's a game that we should have won. Not because we dominated or created dozens of chances, but because we scored the kind of goal that should have killed the game with just a couple of minutes to go. I don't want to dwell on the negative because there's a big positive to come to, but the manager needs to take a long, hard look at the options at the centre of our defence.

There's a reason United let Silvestre go, it's because he's not good enough for them. And if he's not good enough for them then he's not good enough for us. I know he's only playing because of injury but we concede a lot of goals when he plays and frankly I fail to see the logic in loaning Senderos out and buying an inferior player. Look at the summer, the teams interested in him were Sunderland and Man City, which says it all really.

Anyway, there's little we can do only hope that Djourou gets fit ASAP and in the meantime Toure and Silvestre use their experience to try and improve things back there. Because if we defend like that in the CL against United we're going to have big problems.

And there'll be no Arshavin to bail us out this time. What can you say about the little Russian? Four goals at Anfield is not an uncommon sight to Arsenal fans but the importance and quality of Arshavin's four does make Baptista's Carling Cup haul look second rate. Arsene Wenger said:

I have been in this job a long time and not many players get four goals in a top game like that. I didn't expect him to do that - he has scored seven in seven games.

He's just made himself an instant legend and his signing has done so much for this team. Despite what you might read elsewhere this is a Wenger signing. Fiszman didn't sign him, nor did Ivan Gazidis who had only been in his new job since January 1st. Suggestions otherwise are disingenuous, at best, and outright lies at worst, designed to provide the author with ammunition against a man from whom he's tried to make money peddling his book.

We all know how Arsene operates - without boardroom interference when it comes to footballing matters. I'm not saying that's a good thing, clearly at times it isn't, but to say that he was forced to buy Arshavin, insinuating it was against his will, is just ridiculous.

I did say yesterday that Arshavin might put in the kind of performance that would say 'Next time, Arsene, pick me', but I didn't expect anything quite like that. Last week the manager said 'Experience is overrated', Andrei showed last night that experience is vital. It's not everything and you can talk about quality and consistency but both of those tend to improve as players get more experienced.

It was a phenomenal evening for him and as gutted as I was not to see us win the game I have to say I felt a bit sorry for him as well. To score four at Anfield and not have the joy of winning, to have it snatched away from you with a late equaliser, must be hard to take. Still, he showed the world he's not another Rebrov, not another Shevchenko, a Russian an eastern European who can't hack it in England.

He's a special player and he's one of the men who our team should be built around. His professionalism as apparent as his disappointment that his goals didn't mean victory for the team. It's such a shame he can't play in Europe but you can't help thinking he's got plenty more to offer between now and the end of the season. There's no need to mention Chelsea other than to say he's a big game player who needs to play in our big games from now on. No exceptions.

With so much already written let's leave it there for today and try and focus on some positives. The cold light of day will tell us that a point at Anfield is a decent result, even if the way it came about hurt. It will tell us that we played a Liverpool team fighting to stay in the title race having had the whole weekend off while we played in the FA Cup. It will tell us that defending by both teams was poor (although I couldn't care less about how Liverpool defend - and I'm not quite sure how this is a positive for us but never mind), and it will tell us that Andrei Arshavin announced himself, well and truly, as a world class Arsenal player.

Till tomorrow.