So, after 24 hours of hearing that the deal for Arshavin was finally done, guess what?  It's not.

Instead we're being told that the deal is still tangled because Arshavin and Arsenal have yet to agree on personal terms.  I wrote yesterday that it seemed odd that this would be the case since everyone was reporting that Arshavin and the Gunners had already reached a basic deal and all they were waiting on was Zenit's approval.

So what's the hold up?   Uh...I don't know, but here are some of the reported issues:

1. Who pays the fees of Arshavin's agent?  We're talking about a fee along the lines of 2 to 3.5 million pounds.   Zenit want that fee to be paid by Arsenal.  Arsenal have never paid an agent's fees and that's unlikely to change now.  They feel that's something the player should pay.  And Arshavin's agent only cares that he gets his fee paid. ...

http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/sport/football/premier_league/arsenal/article5594933.ece

From all indications it appears so.  The long-protracted transfer saga of one Andrei Arshavin appears to have finally come to a conclusion as Arsenal appear to have landed their man.  

http://www.news.com.au/heraldsun/story/0,21985,24969029-2883,00.html

This article says the amount is AU$35 million (or approximately17 million pounds)...

http://www.independent.co.uk/sport/football/transfers/arsenal-at-last-close-in-on-record-deal-for-arshavin-1516908.html

So while we wait on news from the Arshavin front (latest rumors: he's going on strike at Zenit and won't report for their winter training trip to the United Arab Emirates while at the same time his agent says something could happen by next week),  the big news out there in this quiet transfer window is the massive offer Manchester City have reportedly made to AC Milan.  100 million pounds for one Ricardo Kaka'. 

Read that again.  100 million pounds.  Nearly 150 million dollars.  For one player.

That's more than double what Real Madrid paid for Zidane (the current European transfer record).  That's more than triple what City paid for Robinho (the current English transfer record). 

The first thought that rang in my head is: "Wow, how could Milan turn that down?"  But they went and did anyway.  The second thought was: "How...

-- Written at minute 83:45 on the thread dedicated to the game between the Gunners and the Wanderers over at the World Soccer Daily message boards.

Yeah, you can say I kinda lost it.  

It was the vintage Fat Sam tactics we were accustomed to seeing but now being used by Gary Megson.  You can say it was everything that Arsenal has hated to face in recent years all found in one game -- well, except for the bad refereeing decisions and Ferguson mind-games garbage.

Outside of a second-half start push, Bolton's entire plan was to put 10 men behind the ball, hoof the sucker down and pray for a counter-attacking chance.  As I said, vintage Bolton.  Give so much possession, so many chances and so much of the pitch to use while ensuring that it all results in nothing and pray you can steal a win or at least get a draw. 

Of course, it's not as if we...

http://www.mirror.co.uk/sport/football/2009/01/07/arsenal-on-verge-of-10million-andrei-arshavin-signing-exclusive-115875-21021457/

Just a slight post today, to bring this up.

Yeah, it seems we are dealing with Zenit St Petersburg over Andrei Arshavin.  The price?  10 million quid.

....Really?

After spending the summer valuating him anywhere between 20 and 27 million pounds, Zenit's asking price has fallen like a lead balloon.  But by half?

This may be influenced by a number of factors: Arshavin's well-known desire for a move somewhere (Anywhere at this point) away from the vodka and stunning blondes of St Pete.  And the current financial climate means that 25 Million quid fees are likely to...

Ok, maybe not so much.

BTW, hope you had a nice holiday and didn't have to show up for work.  And if that's the case, then may you get bad beer over the weekend!   (Lousy...no good people...enjoying their holiday...not at work unlike me....)

Anycase, the big news right now is the mooted transfer request by Kolo Toure.  It seems his relationship with Billy Gallas has gone the way of Robert Shaw and that mechanical shark.  Sad to say they don't get along and Kolo feels as if his career would be better served elsewhere.

I've been a big fan of Kolo's.  He had the game that complemented Sol Campbell, Phil Senderos or any other big, bruising CB.  He was a quiet leader who was growing in stature within the club.  And he was a mainstay on the Ivory Coast team.  I thought he was set for a good, long career with Arsenal. 

I'll take a quick moment from all the Arsenal-gazing to wish you and yours a very Merry Christmas...or Happy Hannukah...or Happy Kwanzaa.  Or may you just simply have a festive Winter Solstice.

Now is the time to be with family, friends and loved ones.   We can worry about Cesc's injury or the holes in the roster later.

Drink eggnog.  If you got lots of family crashing with you, then drink lots of eggnog with a serious splash of vodka, tequila, rum or whiskey.   Open presents and don't think of what someone else got you as being insulting (even if it's just peanuts).  And if you gotta answer the same questions about when you're getting married/having kids/moving out/growing up, well, grin and bear it.  

There's plenty of Arsenal in the days to come to make you forget all that.

You'll have to forgive me for not commenting on today's game.  Unfortunately, I'm out of town and that means I was unable to catch the game.  Not that I missed much from all reports.  Losing sucks.  Losing at home sucks.  Losing at home TO Hull Freakin' City sucks big time.  But losing at home to Hull Freakin' City WITHOUT SCORING A SINGLE GOAL is...well, I got no description for it.

So rather than put myself through the aneurysm-inducing replay, I'll rather comment on the big story of this week:  Michel Platini picking a fight with Arsene Wenger.  

Short version, Platini does an interview with French press in which he blasts Arsene as a "businessman" (i.e. someone interested in the business end of football more than the sporting end) and implied that all Arsene cares about is the big clubs.  What made it kind of weird is that the interview wasn't about Wenger, but...

Well, with World Cup Qualifying break upon us, there's no game to talk about.  No preparations and no outcome to sample.  So let's look instead at what happened Monday night on Transfer Deadline Day (tm and copyright owned Sky Sports).

...

...

..

.

That was the round-up.  

Nothing.  Nada.  Zip.  Zilch.  Zero.  Bupkiss.  Whatever word you want to use.  No players going out (thank God), but no players coming in either.

This caused a massive wave of shock and anger across the Internet.  Blogs, message boards and call-in shows all filled with back and forths of fans who seemed to fall into two camps:

Camp #1: The group filled with angry gooners who couldn't believe that a single player could not be found to help bolster the central...