Is there any news? Nope, there's nothing new floating about at all.  Arshavin is moving his girlfriend to London.  Which she's probably pleased with.  Who knows.  Gazidis is happy to stay at Arsenal, which is also good seeing as he's just arrived.

It's snowing like crazy here in Belfast which is about the most excitement we've had since it snowed last year.

They're making me do work this morning for some reason so if anything new pops up later I'll try and do a proper blog, but as it stands, I have a funny feeling there will only be 'filler' pieces popping up between now and the weekend.

Glad to see Liverpool come unstuck at Everton, and to see Mad Rafa's decision to sell Keane being punished so soon as Gerrard limped off after 15 miniutes with a pulled hamstring.  It's nice when Karma gets it right.

Til later....unless I get snowed in....

After a whole month of spelling his name Andrei, Sky Sports quickly changed it to Andrey after he was officially confirmed as an Arsenal player on the Arsenal.com.  It just goes to show how complicated the whole transfer process can be when names can't even be agreed on, let alone fees.  But at about 4.55pm, almost 24 hours after the transfer window shut, Arsenal were able to confirm that we had indeed signed Andre-with-a-y Arshavin.

Reports on the fee paid are conflicting, but the story coming from Zenit sounds like a whole bunch of crap, trying to make out that they squeezed more than £15million out of Arsenal.  I don't believe it.  They know if a transfer fee is 'Private' Arsenal won't dishonour that so they've decided to take advantage and talk some more bulls**t.  They actually make Real Madrid look like they have some scruples when it comes to transfers and we all know what a bunch of chancers they are.

Anyway, we have our man.  Here's a few more facts stolen from the Arsenal.com website (yes, I'm struggling to find anything new to write about):

FULL NAME: Andrey Sergeyevich Arshavin

NATIONALITY: Russian

BORN:  May 29 1981. Saint Petersburg, Russia

AGE: 27

HEIGHT / WEIGHT: 172cm / 62kg

PREVIOUS CLUBS: Zenit St Petersburg (2000– January 2009) 232 appearances (51 goals)

CLUB HONOURS: 2003 Russian Premier League Cup
                                2007 Russian Premier League
                                2008 Russian Super Cup
                                2008 UEFA Cup
                                2008 UEFA Super Cup

TRANSFER DETAILS: Long-term contract for an undisclosed fee

POSITION: Midfielder

INTERNATIONAL CAREER: Russia (2002 - Present) 41 appearances (15 goals)

INTERNATIONAL DEBUT: May 17 2002 v Belarus (International friendly, in Moscow, Russia) 1-1, Belarus won 5-4 on pens.

FIRST INTERNATIONAL GOAL: February 13 2003 v Romania (International friendly, in Limassol, Cyprus) Scored third goal in 4-2 Russia victory.

ADDITIONAL INFORMATION:

• Voted Russian Footballer of the Year in 2006
• Started all 30 matches in Zenit’s Russian Premier League campaign in 2007, the first time Zenit had won a league title since 1984
• Played a key part in Zenit’s 2008 UEFA Cup winning campaign
• Came on as a half-time substitute in the 2008 UEFA Super Cup victory over Manchester United in Monaco, in August 2008. Zenit won 2-1
• Three impressive performances earned him a place in the ‘EURO 2008 Team of the Tournament’
• Graduated from the Smena football school. In 1999 – 2000, he played for Zenit’s ‘farm club’, Zenit-2 in the Russian Second Division
• Made his full Zenit debut in England, against Bradford City in the Intertoto Cup at Valley Parade in August 2000. Zenit won the match 3-0
• Is comfortable in many positions. He started his career as a right midfielder, then as an attacking midfielder and more recently has been playing in the ‘second striker’s’ role

RUSSIA IN EURO 2008:

GROUP STAGE:

• v Spain - Lost 1-4 (suspended)
• v Greece - Won 1-0 (suspended)
• v Sweden - Won 2-0 (played and scored)

QUARTER FINAL:

• v Netherlands - Won 3-1 (played and scored)

SEMI FINAL:

• v Spain - Lost 0-3 (played)

Theres a few rumours flying about that some paperwork was not filed in time, but I'm pretty sure the Premier League confirmed yesterday that all the relevant papers had been received by 5pm on deadline day.  To see the Daily Mirror yak on about how the Premier League has bent the rules for Arsenal is just ridiculous.  The deadline was extended for all transfers which were agreed in principle, so it's just bollox.  Add that to the fact that Zenit are groaning on about the fact that Arshavin blah blah blah you just know that this story isn't going to settle any time soon.

That's your lot for today, I think we've covered the Arshavin story well enough, here's hoping there might be some news about the other players we are meant to have in the squad.

It is believed that Arsenal have made a signing, although the press black-out regarding the matter has left it hard to establish exactly who it is.  Unsubstantiated rumours hint that it could be Zenit's Andrei Arshavin.  It is believed that he will arrive at the Emirates on a White Stallion and proceed to score 300 goals between now and May, while he will set-up around 1,000 for his grateful teammates, who, until now, have been unable to do anything for themselves.

The fee, thought to be the highest in living memory, is only a partial down payment on his right foot, with the remainder to be paid in daily installments of £2million for the next 16 years.  It is believed his hands are an optional extra which Arsenal are exploring the true market value of before making a decision.

It is also believed that Zenit have asked Arshavin to return all food and drink he had consumed while at their training grounds, and also asked him to re-lay every piece of grass he may have flattened while he was their player.

The Arsenal fans have reacted in a nonchalant manner, many of then stating they have never even heard of a player named Arse Shaving, believing this was some new meterosexual trend in West London.

Wenger has refused to comment, but stated that it was highly unlikely that Arsenal would sign anyone over the age of 16.

Confirmation of the above to follow

(spot position of tongue-in-cheek in case you missed it)

I thought about doing a blog this morning, but then figured as it was the deadline day for the transfer window I would wait til 5 and do a round up then....but what would I have to put in tomorrow's blog?  Oh, the dilemma!. 

So, i'll do a quick blog at 5pm when the window thankfully slams shut, and we'll see if the Russian weather has brought with it a Russian playmaker.  I doubt it though as Sky bet have slashed the odds of Arshavin (I know I'd been spelling it Arsharvin, it was an 'inside' joke, but apparently it unsettled a few people ffs) joining Arsenal from 1-8 to 6-4, that's a pretty big cut.

Til this afternoon and the end of this madness then....

Toothless.  That's what we were against a West Ham who came to do nothing but defend and try not to lose.  How many saves did Robert Green make? One I think, and that was one I could have made.  Adebayor, again, gave no indication that he was going to score anytime soon, Bendtner was, well, Bendtner (the bad one who starts matches, not the good one who comes off the bench).  Van Persie started on the bench, Djourou got dropped, and we could have played to christmas and wouldn't have got close.

Diaby, who played relatively well (note the use of the word relatively) before being stretchered off with what looked like it might be a serious injury.  Eboue was replaced early in the first half as he damaged a toenail or something and that was a blessing as he was useless.  Will this force Wenger to buy Arsharvin or play Wilshere?  Probably not, we'll just see Song dandering about in midfield until they're back.

But Villa didn't win, and with Liverpool playing Chelsea later, at least one of them will be losing points.  We may not have gained any ground (on fourth, not Utd, they're out of our league and we need to accept that fact), but we haven't lost any and that's been the weird thing this season.  All the top four contenders have dropped points around the same time (we just happen to be better at dropping more).

Here's to a fantastic draw at Anfield later on.

Ok, so it hasn't 'officially' gone through, but it's closer than I ever thought it would get.  When Sky Sports asked Dick Advocaat if they could film Arsharvin at their training camp in Dubai they were told he wasn't there, when asked if they could film him at the hotel Dick's response was apparently along the lines of 'do what you like, he's no longer my player' (source Sky Sports News TV).  Add that to reports that Wenger has confirmed we have applied for his work permit, and that he wants a decision on the player before tomorrow's match, with a little bit of this story with Arsharvin reported to have refused to train with Zenit, you start to think this might actually happen.

But there's football today, and if his signing is announced before the game it can only serve to lift the team and fans.  What effect will it have if we fail to sign him?  It should galvanise the team, knowing that they have to do this themselves, but who the hell can judge how these things turn out.

Ahead of the game, Wenger has hinted that Toure may be back as he looks to rotate the squad.  We all know that the Toure/Gallas partnership just doesn't work, so Djourou should keep his place.  Silvestre will miss most of February, Rosicky is, well, Rosicky, Walcott and Cesc are still some way off, but will Eduardo get a few minutes?  I so want him to play.  NOW.  What a lift to everybody just to have him on the bench, hell, I'd even name him as number 7 sub, the one we never use, just to have him involved.  At this point we need all the help we can get, and anything that helps raise the volume at the Grove, and in turn, fire up the players gets my vote.

So we're likely to see Eboue 'playing' alongside Denilson, Diaby and Nasri in the middle, Van the Man with can't-be-Arsedebayor up front (what effect will Eduardo's return have on the the big man's attitude?  Will he even notice?), and a back four consisting of Sagna, Djourou, Toure, and Clichy.  If you need me to tell you who'll be in goal I'm going to have to seriously question your Arsenal-following credentials.

Away from the football, and back to players who talk too much and improve too little, Bendter has been speaking about why he knew he needed to improve.  That's a tough skill that, being able to watch yourself on TV and see how useless you are, so we should give him credit for all the blood he sweated working that one out. Has he improved?  Time will tell, but let's face it, it would be hard for him to get much worse.

So it's into the breach once more we go.  Anything less than three points will see us confirm that we are destined for the Europa League next year.  Who the f*ck names a competition after the most-bombed hotel in Europe?  Oh yeah, those 'special' people at UEFA.  Idiots.

Can we have three points please.  A performance would be nice too, but I've learned this season not to be greedy so I'll settle for the points.

There is zero, zilch, nada about that hasn't been said a million time.  Here we are the day before a match against West Ham and there's nothing.  Perhaps there'll be more during the day, and if there's anything that breaks i'll try and do a better blog later when I finish work. 

 The one concerning thing is that Hill-Wood seems to be getting Arsenal fans for failure to qualify for the Champions League - hardly an unplifting announcement.

But for now, as there is nothing to say, I'm going to say no more.

Ok, so the plan for this blog went like this - Watch the stream of Everton V Arsenal, write blog, post in moring.  The reality went like this - Watch live stream in bed on laptop, fall asleep, have to go to work at 5AM.  Oops.  I'm sure you'll forgive me just this once that I've cobbled together some words in my break in the hope that it might come across at least semi-organised and sensible.

While the first half of last nights match ended goaless, you couldn't help but be impressed by the effort put in by the whole team.  They closed down everywhere, chased everything down and when a ball was lost they went and tried to get it back again.  It was an A+ (or A* or whatever the grading is now, probably A******).  It was fast and furious, and at times it bordered on frantic, with passes pinging all over the place.  While the effort was to be commended, the passing, however, was atrocious.  You can run about all you like but if you can't find a teammate it means f*ck all.

Then came the second half.  Cahill scored (shocker), Everton were resolute, organised and commited and we couldn't find our own arse with both hands.  The equaliser from Van Persie in the last minute of injury time was spectacular (link will take you to goal) but not deserved.  We were awful and deserved to lose.

Inexplicably Toure lost his place to Gallas last night, and while Gallas played well, Toure most definately did not deserve to be dropped.  Denilson is now the outfield Asenal player who has started more games than any other for Arsenal this season, and that speaks volumes.  We replaced Sanga with Eboue and ny response was simply NO! NO! NO!

To be honest, I can't find the words to describe how I feel after last night, I am glad we didn't lose, but if we play like that against Sp*rs we will get tanked.

In other news, Rosicky might be back in eight weeks.  Eight weeks!  How'd that happen?  I was beginning to wonder if we would ever see him play again, and I definately didn't expect to see him this season.  But with news that Eduardo is almost back (he's already been recalled by Croatia, presumabley with Arsenal's blessing, for their friendly against Romania), Walcott could be back for the Roma game, Rosicky not much after and then Cesc still to come, our squad all of a sudden looks a hell of a lot healthier.  A lot has been made about the number of injuries Utd have had this season, but the majority of those have either been niggles or to fringe players.  Nothing has been said of us losing Fabregas and the rest and lets face it, it's not like they're fringe players.  They are the core of the team.  If Liverpool were to lose just Gerrard (our Fabregas tho not as good) where would they be?  Or Utd Ronaldo?  I doubt they would be where they are now. 

I know the fact that we are still in the mix has more to do with other teams failing to win that with us deserving to be there, but there we are and we should not let the opportunity slip. I've had a feeling about this season, even when Paddy Power were giving 40-1 on Arsenal winning the title I still just had a gut feeling that this year we were going to see something spectatcular happen á la 1989.  I just hope my gut is right and it's not just trapped wind.

Talks are underway to renew Theo's contract.  We want him to stay, he wants to stay so it's all good.  I hope.  Arsene has also been speaking about how Van the Man's fitness has been priceless to us and I couldn't agree more.  It doesn't bear thinking about where we'd without his goals, assists, and performances (Stoke game aside).

 And look, not one mention of the 'A' word...life is good...but off course it would have been a lot better with three points last night :)

So nothing has been agreed regarding Arsharvin blah blah and we're concentrating solely on the Everton game.  Sounds like a plan to me.  What I'm sure we can all agree on is this has moved past an annoyance, through an embarrassment, and into the great land of farce.  It's cringe-worthy and I'd end the whole thing right now simply for the way that Zenit, Arsharvin, and his agent have got on.  Yes we've agreed terms, no we haven't , here's the deadline, o no it's not.  Panto season finished when the transfer window opened but it seems the news hasn't quite reached St. Petersberg.

Everton tonight then and it'll be no stroll in the park.  Somebody best let Adebayor know because if he turns up expecting another dander on some green stuff he's going to get a serious arse-kicking from the fans.  Will we see Eduardo?  No idea.  Will I ask that question before every match until we do see him?  Probably.

On the team news for the match front it's bugger, bollocks, and you can't be serious as Gallas is set for a return alongside Djourou or Toure.  Djourou or Gallas?  Toure or Gallas?  Is there any doubt about the answer?  Is it even a valid question?  Neither of them deserve to lose their place, and they certainly don't deserve to lose it to Gallas.  Team rotation yada yada yada, Everton is a bloody important match, one we can't afford to drop points in and one which we will have to be at our best to win.  Grrrrrr

Clichy will be back, but Gibbs should definatly get a place on the bench after his display against Cardiff.  As for Everton, all their half decent players (well, some of them) who missed the match against Liverpool will be back.  Whoopee.

On a non-Arsenal note, the bookies have apparently paid out on Barcelona winning La Liga.  Is that the earliest ever pay-out?  Has to be pretty damn close, we haven't even reached February yet.

That's your lot for today, short and not-so-sweet - a bit like me really!

OK, so Saturday's fix of football didn't quite leave me satisfied so it is with excited trepidation that I look forward to the match at Everton on Wednesday. Arteta should be back just in time for us so it's another great opportunity for us to see how much we've learnt (?!) and how we handle superb crosses and a fantastic header of the ball. God save us. Throw in Gallas in the defence beside Toure and we're all set for a classic. NOT. (I've no indication if Gallas will play, I'm just supposing.)

Did you ever think you'd see the day Rosicky would resume training?  No, me either, but that day has come.   It can only be a matter of days before he's struck down by a plague of insane penguins (can you have a plague of penguins, o, who cares, you get my point).

I must admit, I'm not in the best form as I write this, people are idiots (though not you obviously) and the lack of news is painful. As is so much Sp*rs in the paper, my brain can't keep looking at such obscene images and not become affected in a negative manner.

While we've still made no movement in the transfer window (shocker) Sp*rs keep buying everyone and anyone who is available (and even those who aren't). What's with Cudicini going from being cover at Chelsea to cover at Sp*rs? At least he gets to see what the Champions League looks like at Stamford Bridge.

Seriously...where the hell do Sp*rs get all the money? They've won one trophy in like a thousand years, never qualified for the Champions League, yet they still keep ploughing millions upon millions into new players and wages - and even more buying back players they sold two minutes ago. It proves that money doesn't buy you success but if you were their owner would you not prefer a little value for money (or even a top half team?)? Sorry, it hurts too much to even think about being the owner of Sp*rs so let's move on to something a little less brain-melting....Arsharvin blah blah blah.

Arsharvin blah blah blah. First the deadline was Saturday, then Sunday, then Monday, now he'd prefer to go to Spain. How about we just do away with the idea of signing him altogether and concentrate on getting someone like Merida, Ramsey, or Wilshere to fill the void. Arsharvin, should we sign him, won't be match fit, he'll need the 'settling in period' (although Nasri didn't, you just know Arsharvin will need around two years to get up to speed with the Premier League - I think it's directly connected to just how f**ked up the transfer process is).

OK, they're young and they're inexperienced, but so was Fabregas, but they have the talent and can play in the Premier League NOW, which really must be the important thing. And if Arsharvin blah blah blah would prefer to go to Spain, let him, this amount of bullsh*t is the kind of thing Real Madrid are used to. Let them deal with it.

Bollox to this, I'm away for a coffee and a smoke.

UPDATE - Apparently we've agreed a fee with Zenit for Arsharvin blah blah blah - I'll believe it when I hear it from Arsenal, but apart from that link it's also here and here (I thought we'd already agreed wages with Arsharvin, who was willing to take a pay cut to escape Zenit, and it was Zenit holding things up by being unreasonable....now it seems he wants more money ffs this transfer story does my melon in)