By Michael Sinnerton

Seems difficult not to talk about Sven's move to Notts County this evening. Baffling - that I think is the general opinion. Those who point to money as the major factory must be overlooking the fact that Sven could've got similar money with ease in Qatar or mainland Europe. Not that money can't have played its part, trust me, I've been to Nottingham.

Still Sven must have some faith in the project, a girl in Nottingham or a love for English culture and Barney Ronay in the Guardian rightly points out that money in League Two may well lead to immediate success for Notts County. This is why the move makes so much sense for the buyers, who may be able to make County a championship club within a few years whilst their value soars. Meanwhile the profile-lift and Sven's expertise (he has some, if not at that level) could prove valuable in the short-term.

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Little note to Rafa Benitez, please add one more quality addition. I really think Liverpool need that extra attacking edge, David Silva has been linked and linked again and would almost certainly be an excellent signing. I'd like to see Alonso stay, if only because I feel title winning sides tend to be built on stability with a few quality additions. Aquilani would be an excellent replacement but the time he takes to settle in could set Liverpool back.

Is anyone else starting to think that Samir Nasri and Tomas Rosicky have signed contracts saying that they're not allowed on the pitch at the same time? Although Nasri's injury is not as bad as first seemed, any injuries to Arsenal's squad only serve to highlight their fragility as title contenders.

By Michael Sinnerton

Having discussed Inter's preparations for the coming season, Students of the Game shines its budget spotlight (which let's face it is a torch) over The Old Lady of Italian football - Juventus.

Having been led steadily if unspectacularly by Claudio Ranieri, the managerial reins have been handed to ex-Juve defender Ciro Ferrera. Ferrera has managed to keep most of Ranieri's squad in place and Juventus seem to have added well. Fabio Cannavaro, while no longer the world's best defender, will add strength, experience and his wonderful reading of the game to a decent backline likely to contain Giorgio Chiellini (who it has been whispered is badly over-rated), Zdenek Grygera and Cristian Molinaro with Legrottaglie, Zebina and De Ceglie all useful options.

In midfield the loss of Pavel Nedved should be offset by the ‘formica ant', the diminutive but brilliant Sebastian Giovinco. Along with Cannavaro, new signings Felipe Melo and Diego add strength and quality of Juve's spine. They should be aided by the ever-developing Momo Sissoko and the ever-fiery Mauro Camoranesi. The likes of Cristian Poulson (may leave), Claudio Marchisio, Cristiano Zanetti and Tiago, among others, mean Ferrera has a host of midfield options to choose from. However there is the feeling that while Juventus have excellent strength in depth (being able to call on maybe 30 decent first-teamers), they could do with trimming the numbers slightly whilst upping the quality.

With David Trezeguet seemingly on the way out, the new boss has Amauri, Iaquinta and the everblack and white Alex Del Piero. Any funds from Big Trez (to his friends), Poulson and so on could be used to sign a fourth front-line striker, I've got a feeling for Edin Dzeko for basically no reason but they have been linked with anyone from Chamakh to Hoarau so your guess is as good as mine.

Juventus still seem some way short of making a sustained Champions League challenge, particularly compared to the Spanish and English giants but should be Inter's biggest challengers and could even prosper should Mourinho's eye waver towards Europe's biggest prize. The season though will be a big test for Ciro Ferrera in his first managerial role - Pep Guardiola has set very high standards indeed.

By Michael Sinnerton

As part of this week's focus on Italy, Students of the Game looks at how champions Inter have prepared for the challenge of defending their title and making a better challenge in Europe.

Having won the league for the fourth consecutive time (third on the pitch), Inter have quickly become the Lyon of Italian football. Whilst there success is impressive, from the outside it appears that they have relied heavily on Ibrahimovic and have won the league through being fairly well-organised at the back and having lots of good players, rather than any form of system or teamwork. Obviously they benefited majorly from the Calciopoli scandal with their main rivals arguably still recovering.

With Juventus and AC Milan appointing young coaches, Mourinho finds himself in the strange position of the experienced campaigner. Losing the big Swede has given hope to the other big clubs but Mourinho is still able to pick from Diego Milito, Samuel Eto'o, David Suazo and Mario Balotelli as front-line strikers (with seal-juggling Kerlon a maverick option).

With two of his first three signings, Ricardo Quaresma and Mancini, seemingly unfancied, this season could see Inter switch to a 4-3-1-2 system this season with Hleb or Stankovic good options to play in the hole. A midfield three of Motta, Cambiasso and Muntari should add strength (although Motta's ability at this level is debateable) to the team and make them hard to beat. This would allow Maicon and Santon to provide attacking width down the flanks, with the Brazilian in particular always keen to get forward.

Cordoba, Zanetti, Burdisso, Materazzi, Samuel, and Chivu all provide international class options in defence in front of the excellent Julio Cesar and Inter remain the team to beat. Losing Ibrahimovic could work one of two ways, either galvanising and strengthening the team or exposing the glaring deficiencies that have haunted Inter in Europe.

Have Barca lost it? Do they feel so deprived of the limelight by Real Madrid that it's come to this? What a ridiculous piece of business. If you haven't seen the news, Barcelona have agreed a deal in principle to sign Zlatan Ibrahimovic from Inter at the cost of £35m AND Samuel Eto'o AND Alex Hleb on loan for a year.

Maybe Liverpool will offer Valencia £30m and Fernando Torres for David Villa next. What are Barca thinking? Yes, Ibrahimovic is a fantastic player, regardless of the views of most casual English viewers, but is he going to get more goals than Samuel Eto'o who got 30 league goals last year. I'd expect a £35m striker to score at least 20 goals so ‘Ibra' needs to score 50 to prove his worth.

Eto'o is key to the way Barca play, he attacks at pace and really is their first line of defence. Zlatan is never going to be the first line of defence and so Barca will lose an element of the wonderful pressing game they have developed under Guardiola. The big Swede, whilst not being slow, also lacks the genuine pace of Eto'o. Given that Barca have a small squad quality wise letting Hleb go on loan as well seems strange to me, meaning two attacking injuries will lead to the promotion of untested youngsters.

There are positives I suppose, Barca will be getting a world class replacement, and Ibrahimovic will fit in nicely with their trademark one and two touch football. He will score goals, because how could he not, I would probably score a few in the company of Messi, Henry, Iniesta and Xavi. But do any Barcelona fans genuinely see this as a good move?

I know standing still in sport is akin to going backwards but I think one more year of the ‘Dream Team 2' would have still been more than successful. Ibrahimovic's signing threatens the way Barcelona defend from the front but more than that is just a terrible piece of business. If the move were a straight swap or even £5-10m I could understand but to haggle over David Villa at £40m and then give that plus your best striker to Inter is baffling. Let's hope it's all a ploy for Valencia's benefit.

By Michael Sinnerton

Stewart Downing's transfer from Middlesbrough to Aston Villa has been criticised by many Aston Villa fans and laughed at by fans of other clubs. I think Downing is a good enough player to be a big success at Villa and he is a victim of being not quite good enough to play for England.

As this blog already pointed out Downing created 72 chances last season (Daily Telegraph stats) compared to Antonio Valencia: 70 and Wayne Rooney: 67. Whilst Valencia's move to United has been praised and is generally accepted as a good move even at the overpriced cost of £18m, Downing's £6m cheaper move isn't held in quite the same slight. This despite Downing creating more chances in a weaker team, who presumably had less of the ball, certainly than Wayne Rooney if not Valencia. I do agree with Joel's assertion that the loss of Martin Laursen could prove huge for Villa though.

I do worry that Villa's squad is becoming a touch lop-sided though, with 3 excellent wing options in Downing, Young and Milner off-set by the loss of Gareth Barry leaving a soft centre to their team. Only Petrov, Reo-Coker and Sidwell offer any real strength through the centre and arguably Martin O'Neill needs to add one top class player to play with one or two of those (depending on formation).

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Will Arsenal fans have any sense of betrayal if Patrick Viera joins Spurs? Or do they accept that Viera was a great player for the club and having lost probably 30% of his effectiveness is now a good fit for a Spurs team who are still, despite spending and spending, some way behind them on the pitch. Are Tottenham fans as under whelmed by this transfer as me? Either way Harry's activity doesn't seem to offer much hope to Tom Huddlestone - another young English prospect pushed aside for an ageing foreign import.

By Michael Sinnerton

Are Arsenal fans going to regret waving Emmanuel Adebayor cheerfully out? I must start by saying that £25m is a pretty good piece of business from Arsenal's point of view, some £18m profit that can be used to pay off more of the clubs debt (let's face it Wenger's never going to spend it).

But...here's the thing. Adebayor has scored 46 goals in 86 games (and 18 substitute appearances) for Arsenal in the Premiership. He also has 7 goals in 7 domestic cup starts and a decent record in Europe. These should be the sorts of stats that make you a fan favourite, if Arshavin ends up with similar stats Arsenal fans will be calling him the best player in the world.

Now I know Adebayor can be a dick. Let's face it he's not the most liked guy in the world for a reason. But nevertheless he was Arsenal's top scorer last season, he was arguably the difference between them and Villarreal in the Champions League and he is capable of more than the odd spectacular goal.

As I've mentioned the deal's pretty good for Arsenal money wise, but I for one would much rather be faced with Bendtner than Adebayor if I was a defender so I don't think this is the deal of the century that Arsenal fans seem to think it is. From Man City's perspective they get one of the better strikers in world football, and one who is proven in the Premiership. Plus, Adebayor is only 25 and has enough seasons left ahead of him for City to get a decent return if they sell him.

I actually think this deal is one that could be good for all involved, although it does make the purchase of Roque Santa Cruz all the more pointless and expensive. What are your thoughts on the latest big name signing at Eastlands?

By Michael Sinnerton

Arsenal's unique take on ownership took another twist this week when the board, and its financial advisors, Rothschild, turned down an offer to underwrite a ‘rights issue' proposed by Alisher Usmanov. Days later Stan Kroenke, Arsenal's largest stake-holder, purchased 160 shares at £8,500 each, to his stake to 28.58%.

For those who don't know, if and when Kroenke reaches 30% he is obliged to make an offer for the remaining shares. The Uzbek must be frustrated at the board's seeming favouritism particularly when his ‘rights issue' seemed a relatively sensible proposal. The chief shareholder, and anyone else, would be able to buy ‘new' shares creating cash. The issue would mean Usmanov and other shareholders reaching into their piggybanks rather than plunging the club into debt. It was hoped around £150m could be raised, £60m of which would be made available to Arsene Wenger and the rest put towards the clubs reported £416m debts.

As David Conn points out in the Guardian care could have been taken to protect the stakes of smaller shareholders whilst providing an example to owners of the other big clubs whereby the benefactors invest real cash with no strings attached and no borrowing. As many of Arsenal's largest shareholders have made huge money selling shares, to Kroenke in particular, I think they should have been willing to give something back.

Ivan Gazidis claimed that Arsenal don't need the money, i.e. they are paying off the debt comfortably a bit at a time and don't want to overpay in the current inflated transfer market. But I'm not sure that's true, are Arsenal fans really happy to continue to invest in youth and, more than likely, end up 4^th? Wouldn't they prefer a big investment to give them the possibility of a real title challenge, particularly given the positive news announced this week?

With Van Persie signing a new deal and Eduardo and Rosicky potentially back as first team players Arsene has a hugely dangerous and talented bunch of attackers to choose from. Defensively (and I include the midfield in this) the team are miles short of Liverpool, Chelsea and Manchester United. Two or three top quality signings could see this Arsenal team really succeed (not necessarily to the detriment of the youngsters).

Do the fans want the club to push on or are they really happy being ‘just' great to watch but ultimately trophyless?

By Michael Sinnerton

Amir Zaki, football's Mr Unprofessional, wants to return to the Premier League. He may well still be able to do so but perhaps returning late from International duty five times in a row, might come back to haunt him. I kind of hope so.

Zaki has today claimed Aston Villa failed with an £11million bid to sign him in January. If that's true it casts some doubts on Martin O'Neill's judgement but it may well be just an attempt to get him some headlines at a time when it looks more likely he will be playing football for a lower league French club than anyone with profile in the Premier League. Zaki's arrogance and lack of respect towards Steve Bruce is enough to put any manager off, let alone his huge dip in form which points to Premier League defenders working him out. Good riddance to bad rubbish? Or a waste of talent that could prosper under the right guidance?

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Are Man City completely mad or genuinely onto something? Signing John Terry from Chelsea, to me seems an utterly impossible task. When Steven Gerrard almost moved from Liverpool to Chelsea he was moving from a team who he loved but were 4^th to a championship winning and potentially league dominating team. Terry, arguably more associated and in love with his club than Gerrard, would be almost moving in the other direction.

Perhaps City are just stirring and I don't think Terry would be move but it's strange that he hasn't come out to distance himself and end the speculation. At least Hughes and they owners have changed tack from simply attempting to buy any decent striker on the market. If they do manage to sign a couple of top-quality defenders, I still think City have the possibility to give the Big Four (possibly now the big 3 and a half) a real battle.

By Michael Sinnerton

Had a very busy day so sadly haven't managed to do a proper football blog today. Instead I thought I'd take the time to pay tribute to the greatest tennis player ever.

How lucky we are to live at a time when Roger Federer struts his imperial stuff. 15 grand slams tournaments in just 6 years; it took Pete Sampras 12 years to get his phenomenal 14. Federer returned to world number one today, admittedly partly in the absence of Rafael Nadal through injury, but also after coming back from two heartbreaking five set defeats to the same man. Those two defeats at Wimbledon and the Australian Open could have led to Federer retiring early, instead he battled back and won the French Open title for the first time and regained his Wimbledon crown.

A clay court legend, whose name sadly escapes me, rates Federer as probably the third or fourth best player on clay ever. He is just unfortunate to have met the best clay courter of all time in final after final at the French. When time judges Federer though, having survived Nadal's onslaught to win more grand slams he may be held in even higher stead than had he won three or four French Opens. Andy Roddick's name must be mentioned here, so wonderful was his performance today. Though it will be of little consolation to him, he won many friends today and even the harshest of judges wouldn't begrudge him success next year (or at the US).

Those of us of English or Australian nature have the Ashes to look forward to this week as football takes a slight back-burner but it won't be long before football's back on our front pages as Franck Ribery is forced to move to Chelsea or David Villa makes Barca's dream team that little more special.