6 points just cause I didn't forget this one today:

Oops, kinda forgot this yesterday...so there'll be two today....I know, I'll slap myself later.

Say hello to Robin today for 3 and a half points just to make it a little bit interesting:

Morning folks and another quickie today as my head is absolutely bouncing. This heat is playing with my sinuses in a totally inappropriate, non-hayfever way and it is driving me insane. Do you care? Probably not, but trust me, you would if you had to listen to me moan all day!

So, according to the Independent VP has finally remembered how a pen works and signed a new deal keeping him at Arsenal until 2014. Still no official confirmation as yet, but I'm hoping it's true as it was in the Independent and not the Daily Star. 

This comes on the back of Gibbs, Wilshere and Ramsey all signing new deals as well. Not quite the same as a big shiny new signing, but important nonetheless. If often gets forgotten in the madness of the transfer window as we all scramble to sign the biggest and best that you need to ensure that you keep the biggest and best you already have if you have to have any hope of bringing in anyone else.  I thought it would have taken more that one signing by Mr. VP after all the fuss he made about it throughout the season, but there you go, a footballer who didn't want all 'that' much.

Told ya it was short...

Well we do, and not only do we know that he's is a wonderkid who will become a wondergrownup, we also know that he has committed his future to Arsenal. Long term contracts rock when they aren't signed by anyone called Silvestre, Gallas, or Adebayor. VP? Any chance?

There seems to be some confusion over whether Gallas is wanting to stay or away, but I don't really care to be honest. I don't care if he runs out his contract, I don't care if he never plays for us again, and I don't care if he goes on to be our 'player of the season' next year. I can't help it, I just don't care and nothing you say can make me.

Something else I don't care about is why Bischoff left. If you are otherwise inclined, then you can read about it here. It's shocking stuff. Hardly.

In other news, Villa still want Senderos, Nordtveit lost a tooth and Gilbert is on his way out.

Yes indeedy, it is that slow out there.

Have the papers run out of people to link us too? Or am I just not looking in the right places? To be honest, in this heat, the less work I have to do the better. I am seriously considering moving to Greenland or Iceland. I don't know what weather Sky is monitoring as they said the only places to avoid a heatwave would be Northern Ireland. My arse! It may not be sunny but my fuck it's hot. Sickeningly so.

But do you care? Nah, didn't think so.

Short but cute don't ya think?

From the reactions of the Chavs in the background I'm gonna guess that it isn't photoshopped, so, for 8 points, WTF?

So I made a grand statement in my comeback blog yesterday that I had a funny feeling about Benzema and the rumours surrounding our alleged interest in him. Turns out it was a strange feeling, but it was indigestion rather than any sort of psychic ability. Pop a Rennie and Benzema heads to Real Madrid for €far more than we would have paid.

The best rumour I heard yesterday was that Bordeaux want Butternut. This time there is no intuition/indigestion influencing my decision to believe in this one, it is a simple case of wanting it to be true so much that I am willing to put my faith in it. Isn't that what being an Arsenal fan has become anyway recently? The willingness to believe even when we should know better? Ack, that's just the heat talking, we chose to believe because Wenger is God. And even God gets it wrong sometimes, just look at the 25!

Speaking of which, it seems that his transfer to AC Milan is creeping closer. The bookies have taken enough money off me over the years that I know not to argue with them.

Today we are linked once again with Cana, a player with the experience we need for that midfield role (though I still think playing Kolo there is an option if Man City don't offer him £200,000 pw plus and £kazillion sign-on fee). He wants to join us (so says his agent) and I wouldn't have any objections to his arrival but I guess we'll have to wait and see. Will we be raiding Marseille for the second time in under a year? Knowing Wenger he'll sign somebody nobody has heard off and he'll blow us away. Faith people, faith.

William Gallas is playing down any possible move to Inter which is only good news if Butternut leaves. I will not tolerate both of them staying, and only someone with a butternut for a brain would want butternut to stay. Nepotism and all that. If Gallas does stay I can't see us renewing his contract at the end of next season, and by that stage hopefully Djourou will have moved forward enough in his development that he will be a natural replacement with another youngster coming through to fulfil Johan's role as back-up. See how it is all starting to come together?

Away from players not coming nor going, ultimately perhaps, to the most important 'transfer' at Arsenal, and Wenger is giving hints that he could be extending his contract at the Grove. What is the 'ultimate end' that Wenger wishes to stay and see? I really hope its us winning the quad, could you imagine, the first team winning the league, champions league and FA Cup, while the kids thrash all that come before them in the Spuds Cup? I'm smiling just thinking about it. Could very well wet myself should it happen, and do you know what, I wouldn't care!

There is more concrete great news in that Aaron Ramsey has signed a 'long-term' extension to the contract he only originally signed last year. I guess everyone is liking what they're seeing, except the fans, cause we don't get to see much of him which is a shame. There are rumours around that he could be heading of the Birmingham on a season-long loan, and this deal could just be a way of saying to him 'off course we want you, we just want you to have more experience', you know how fragile players can be. Alternatively, it could be because he is a fantastic player and we want to tie him down for as long as we can. Who can tell! Take a hint RVP, sign your name too!

I forgot to say something yesterday about our new third kit so I'll give my thoughts a brief mention just by saying blurrrghhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh! It shows how bad it is when the away kit actually starts to look decent beside it. Seriously, who picks these things? And who isn't slapping them hard when they do? And if Nike can't grasp what an Arsenal kit is, then fuck 'em, there's plenty of other options out there. I. STILL. WANT. MY. WHITE. SLEEVES. BACK. BTW in case anyone had foolishly thought I'd moved on.

I think I need to lie down.

That's your lot...til tomorrow....

Sod the Summer Kudos League, let's bring back the Big One...get your funny hats on folks and let's get the competitions on the go again...today's funny fella or fillie will get a fabulous four points (and the chance to say hello to our new boy):

If you're new to all this, you win kudos points and the joy/satisfaction that comes with being a witty bastard.

Good morning all, LadyArse is back from her summer holidays and raring to go.  Why I'm talking about myself in the third person I have no idea, perhaps it's the heat and my brain has finally melted. Who could tell if that was the case?

Something I feel I should start with is the transfer window, which, despite the widely held belief, does not start today, it started at midnight after the last game of the season.  Let me quote the Premier League Handbook if I may (and as it is my blog I may):

SECTION M
TRANSFERS OF PLAYERS’ REGISTRATIONS
TransferWindows
1. “Transfer Windows” means the 2 periods in a year during which, subject to Rule M.4, a Club
may apply for the New Registration of a player or to have the registration of a player
transferred to it or for a Temporary Transfer.
2. The first Transfer Window in any year shall commence at midnight on the last day of the
Season and shall end on 31st August next if a Working Day or, if not, on the first Working Day
thereafter, at a time to be determined by the Board.

Now. Let that be an end to this nonsense. Hehehe (and if you don't follow Jamrock's Blog you won't have a clue what I'm rambling on about, but then I'm pretty sure that it won't be the first or last time).

So what's happened since I last blogged? Not much to be honest. We've had Gilberto telling Melo he should join us and he hasn't bothered (see later) , a whole rake of players we are connected with but never going to buy, and then there's Benzema.  I don't know why I like the rumour about him joining us, but there is something to that story that just feels 'right.' That's the best I can do regarding an explanation I'm afraid.

Cesc is still not going to Barca/Madrid/Milan (Inter or AC)/City/Chelsea or the moon. How do I know this? Because I listen to him when he says it 3,456 times a week and not the Sun/Star/Mirror.

The 25 is still with us, but from the upturn in articles about him and Milan, hopefully not for much longer. So is Eboue, Silvestre, and Gallas. Yay!, boo and boo in that order.

Bischoff and a few youngsters have gone. I think we all feel the same about Bischoff and hope Wenger learns from it. We paid wages for a year to a guy who was realistically never going to play first team football all the while providing free top-line rehabilitation and then he has the cheek to start demanding stuff from us. Don't let the door hit you on your non-Arsenal Arse on the way out.

RVP still hasn't signed his contract, but it looks more likely than it did at the end of the season. Why do I say this? Because it's true.

Nasri has been voted our fourth best player of the year on the Arsenal site, with Almunia coming in third. Who will get second and first? I guess one of them has to be RVP, more than likely at number 1, so who is number 2? Denilson? Song? Doubtful, doubtful...it can then only really be Arshavin, which is a sad indictment of the rest of the players if the person who occupies one of the top four slots for player of the season only arrived at the end of January and didn't really get going until well into February. Such was our season last year. Hohum.

But let's not look back, let's look forward. Forward, forward, always forward, unless it's good stuff that's behind, which rules out last season so forward it is.

A new name has been linked with us, Gaetano D'Agostino. Know anything about him? Me neither. All I know is that this story appeared on a number of websites around the same time which means it is either likely, or likely that the publishers of said websites all read the same Sun-like trash.

That story 'broke' just before this one about Melo being a no-go due to the fact that he signed a contract extension at Fiorentina. He was shit in the Confederations Cup anyway.

We kick off our season in 17 days with a friendly against Barnet, the usual pre-season opener. 17 piddley little days. It's like an interlull now, we're into the home straight.

Then we head off to play Hanover, twice on the same day according to the Arsenal fixture list. How's that work? Perhaps we'll have so many players by then we can field two teams, more likely it's a typo. Tut tut. Wouldn't get that sort of thing round these parts....moving on....

With Wenger saying he'd like to get all players in place before pre-season training begins we can all hope that we'll see some movement sooner rather than later, but just saying it doesn't make it so.  I'd like to be a millionaire by the time I'm 35 (that used to be 25 sigh) but that doesn't mean it'll happen. Arsenal and transfers are like oil and water, they don't like each other much, and one often floats on top of the other, urm, well, not exactly, but you know what I mean.

Finally, I have a slight dilemma, caused by the inconsiderate nature of people to insist on getting married during the football season.  Not only has my other-half's nephew decided he would get married in August, he thought that August 29th would be the perfect day, the day we play away to Manure. Typical fucking Liverpool supporter. Do I go? The wedding is at 1.30, and that match is sure to be a 12.45 kick off. Does it matter that I've only met him once?You can tell the season is getting close when life starts getting in the way of football...I can't wait!

And that's your lot for today...see you tomorrow, same time same place...have a good one Arse lovers! 

You put a centre back in, you put a centre back out...

Now that we have made our first signing it seems that everyone is predicting that we will be selling Kolo to Man City. Doesn't this defeat the purpose of signing a centre back? If we sell Kolo aren't we right back to where we were before we signed Vermaelen? And why Kolo? Out of him, Gallas, and Silvestre, Kolo is the one I want to keep. OK, so he didn't have a great season last year, but can we seriously sell him and keep Butternut? That thought does not make me a happy gooner.

With AC Milan stating that their main target this summer is Dzeko, it seems that the 25 is still as far from leaving as he was from working last season. Does he regret his laziness? Does he see how nobody would want a player who is going to be doing nothing more than filling the space which could be occupied by a streaker (who, to be fair, would move more)? Does this mean we might get a wonder season out of him next year and then stupid money next summer? Who knows.  It is telling that he has yet been seen in the new away kit, or bedtime range as it is being called in some quarters (ok, in my house, cause I think it looks like a pair of PJ's)? After all, this guy is not someone who lacks for a desire for attention. I guess time will tell.

Short and sweet today, it seems that as we've signed someone the rumour mill is content, until the Sunday papers at least.  My blogs may be irregular for the next while, such is life, but regular service will be restored well in time for the start of the new season.

Have a great Saturday! (anyone know who stole RAWD?)

Would you believe it, Arsenal have completed, YES COMPLETED, the signing of Thomas Vermaelen from Ajax for an undisclosed fee (believed to be around £10million). What's going on, it's nowhere near the end of the transfer window, it hasn't been protracted in the least, and it was on the Arsenal Official site before anywhere else...these are indeed strange times at The Arsenal long may it continue!

Normal blog service will be resumed sometime soon, I'm having a few days off before I go insane, not that anyone would notice.  Hope you're all well...