"It's an insane world and I'm proud to be part of it"

 So said the late american comedian Bill Hicks, once upon a time. The quote comes to mind today with the news that ex presidente of Real Madrid, Florentino Perez, has promised la afición of Real Madrid that  if he is elected  president of the club again, Arsène Wenger's signature will follow on a contract to manage Real Madrid. I guess all we can do is laugh. Wenger's stock may have fallen slightly in the eyes of Gooners this season, but that's only to say that most of us merely think he's a genius, not God. And even so, the board are still very much in thrall to the the Alsace technician. It's unthinkable to me that the man will manage at any club other than the one he is currently empoyed by.

Meanwhile, Emmanuel Eboue was apparently the subject of an £8million bid from Atletico Madrid. Quick straw poll Eboue to Madrid and £8m in- who's with me? Yes? Yes? Yes? Arsenal? No. Is that unbelievable or is it just me? It gets better as Arsenal apparently want to discuss a contract extension for the leading candidate in the "Worst Player of the Wenger era" category. All that said however, this is all acccording to Eboue's agent. And as we all know, to paraphrase Hicks again, agents "are liars and murderers" so who knows what's going on? It defies my comprehension to think cash strapped Arsenal could turn down that kind of offer for Eboue, but then I'd sell him for a Cadbury's Dairy Milk. Or, not to be picky, a Chomp. Sorry, getting negative again... positive, I must be positive!

Carrying on with the insane world theme of this blog, Andrei Arshavin- just briefly, I know you're bored of it now- says his hopes of a move to Arsenal "lie with God". Poor guy, putting his faith in something we can't be sure exists. It does seem that Zenit have behaved, and continue to behave, in an absurd manner. But anyway.

The reserves played last night, as you might have heard. We drew 2-2, with Jack Wilshere bagging a brace. Eduardo might have won the game in the 87th minute, but his strike was rule out for offside. More importantly, the man himself now feels he is ready to return to first team action. A glimmer of normality in the shadows of the insane world in which we live beckons. The other day, I mentioned his stellar performance as long ball Arsenal dismantled Everton 4-1 last winter. Guess who's up next week? Yep, it's Everton.

According to reports on various Arsenal blogs this morning, we won't be (Ars)havin it this winter time. Zenit have apparently moved the goalposts so many times that Arsenal have ended negotiations, without meeting in Moscow. The deal is dead, long live the deal.

Football365 report that, Zenit have now shown a willingness to compromise and lower their demand for £20m, what with them being desperate to sell a player that doesn't want to play for them and with Arsenal willing to pay no more than £12m. It does seem kinda nuts, I mean it's not like £12m is not a lot of money. Everything counts in large amounts and all that..

In the face of impending disaster, though, it's okay because the manager can call on the talents of his welsh wunderkind, Aaron Ramsey. Aaron must surely be in line to start in the FA Cup at his former club on Saturday and his manager has some things to say about him, some very good things indeed. As the dynamism of Flamini at the core of the first team has not yet been properly replaced, may these Wenger words provide some comfort to us all:

"I believe he did extremely well because he has drive and he can push the team forward. "He is always available, he wants the ball and he is very dynamic in his play. "

Wenger's quotes, suggest to me that, rather than, as one wag suggested in the summer, replacing Fabregas, Aaron could be the man to partner him next season. With this in mind, it's kind of upsetting to see a Top Ten of Patrick Vieira goals on Arse.com, I can't help- I'm sorry but he was my favourite player and I can't- thinking how we would be with Patrick sitting behind Cesc now. Instead, we're reliant on a boy wonder. Or Abou Diaby.

That being said, and perhaps I've not said it, or said it enough here, given how bleak things were looking pre Christmas with injuries mounting up, I've been really impressed, if not by the quality of the football, than by the way the team seem to have got it together and are building up an impressive run of matches unbeaten- of course, now I've said it, we'll go and lose to Cardiff. But, and I know it 's as much due to the failure of the teams above us, irritating Aston Villa aside, the fact that we're hauling ourselves, "inch by inch" back into the title race, gives me hope for the rest of the season. Yes, even without Cesc!

What a weekend that was eh? As the Setanta commentator remarked during the game against Hull, at half past four, results were looking very good for Arsenal. The final whistles blown countrywide around 5pm on Saturday painted a very different picture. Manchester United getting their usual 90th minute goal to turn a draw into a win, Chelsea somehow turning home defeat into a win and Aston Villa.... well, I'm not a conspiracy theorist, but it seems to me that perhaps amongst the CIA, Lee Harvey Oswalds, Bin Ladens and Al-Quaedas of this world lies Martin O'Neil and Randy Learner. They seem to have had a season's worth of luck over the last 6 or 7 matches. Surely it will run out soon. Hopefully, the Arsenal side, beginning to emerge like a phoenix from the ashes of last season's failed title challenge, will be around to take advantage of it.

If they are, it will surely be down to the flowering Robin van Persie. Pilloried here after the defeat against Stoke, though that was more about maturity than ability, it is he, along with Samir Nasri, who has taken on the challenge of dragging us back into the top four and beyond. Such has been his influence of late, it would come as no surprise to me if he were to complete a hat trick of Arse.com Player of the Month awards come the month's end. Okay, so he didn't score. That he didn't was due to an excellent save from Myhill. Robin hasn't scored from a free kick for a while, I feel there must be one coming. He could have had two on Saturday. As it was, it was his delivery from a corner, immediately following that Myhill save, that made Adebayor's 9th league goal of the season a mere formality. It was his guile and ability to pick a pass that put Nasri in to score the winning goal and it was his pass that led to a third goal in as many matches for Nick Bendtner.

We did well to win really, especially with a few of the team not quite at the races. Amongst all the frustratiion of seeing United, Chelsea and Villa all taking a late three points, it's easy to forget that our three most recent wins have been secured only in the last 10 minutes of matches. That we secured this one was, at least in part, due to the substitution of the continued ineffectiveness Emmanuel Eboue, who seemingly lost the ball every single time it came to him. Can't pass, can't dribble, can't shoot. In the words of Adam Ant's 1982 number one, Goody Two Shoes, "What do you do?" Is this me being negative? I don't think so, it's me stating a fact. The man offers us nothing. Well, nothing of any relevance. It now seems ludicrous to me to consider that either Wilshere or Ramsey would not be a better option in midfield. At least both of them know how to pass a ball. And, in the latest issue of the Arsenal magazine, Kenny Sansom, Charlie George and Lee Dixon all agree with that assessment- so there!

It would be very unfair though, to suggest that Eboue was the only one on Saturday. Nasri aside the midfield didn't play that well and as for Clichy and Djourou. Clichy is probably being hung, drawn, quartered and his metaphorical guts fed to the rats that pervade the London Underground on the Arsenal Truth blog for his involvement (or lack of) in the Hull goal. I feel for him though, every mistake he makes costs us at the moment, he is in danger of becoming this season's Senderos. Suspended for the FA Cup match next weekend, this will give the guy a seemingly much needed break and give the boss a chance to look at Keiran Gibbs. Who has impressed on most of his, admittedly, few appearances this season. Djourou? Could haver conceded a penalty, was slow to react to the deflected cross that Clichy should never have allowed into the box and made a couple of very dodgy passes at the back. He will have better games though.

Not to end on a neagtive- me? Perish the thought! This was exactly the kind of game we would have lost at the beginning of the season, to win it was very pleasing. Our 8 game unbeaten run, having taken in the likes of Chelsea and Villa away and Liverpool at home... is it evidence of a newborn spirit in the camp? I hope so. That spirit is going to be tested in Cardiff on Sunday and then, not to get too far ahead of ourselves, another must win game at Goodison Park. Scene, last season, of an amazing individual performance from Eduardo.

So, it's the second team to win at our shiny enormodome up today. In slightly less grand surroundings. But revenge isn't on anyone's mind today. Or it is, it just depends which section of Arsenal.com you happen to be reading.

Le boss has further cooled talk of Arshavin, saying that he isn't the only player Arsenal "are on". Which leaves this observer wondering just how many players are being buried underneath the gaffer and his extraordinary network of scouts. In any case, acording to Zenit's Alexei Petrov, they have invited Arsenal officialdom over for tea and scones on Tuesday and maybe, just maybe, a deal can be thrashed out at the same time. It will be interesting to see how Ivan Gazidis does at the negotiating table. Not, I suppose, that we'll get to hear too much about it.

Arsène has told Cesc to stop being so silly, though naturally, he's been a bit more gentle than that. Responding to Cesc's matchday programme suggestion that it was "not normal" for a 21 year old to have played 270 games for club and country- that is a staggering amount, isn't it?- the boss has responded that he does worry about burn out but if a player wants to play, is available to play and I guess most importantly, is good enough to play then he plays him. I think he's right when he says this:

"But, first of all, it's not normal because Cesc is an exceptional talent and secondly, he has said this because he is out through injury and is analysing what has happened."

There is, though, an implication in those words that if someone is "exceptional", then the boss will have no qualms about playing them whenever he can, which can lead to burn out. I know this is something some Arsenal fans have worried about with Cesc in the past, and for my money, a certain Thierry Henry might have suffered from this at times in his Arsenal career. 

Ever a beacon of sanity in an ocean of swelling, churning madness, the boss has also been talking about the need to keep the fans "faithful". He points out, whilst not quite answering a question about whether ticket prices should be reduced, that fans will stay with the club, if the club survives. I think in categorising the crowd you see at the Grove on a matchday, he might have taken quite a brave step; splitting the crowd into clients, spectators, fans and supporters. At least it would be brave if the clients and spectators were likely to have read what he had said. He wants to keep the fans and supporters onside. I guess the implication is that, no matter the size of the market, there will always be spectators (daytrippers) and clients(corporates) around. Fans and supporters? Though we love the club, and how we love the club, our resources are not infinite. So whilst we will always love the club, we might not always be in the ground to show the love.

What would help the cause is if the Gunners could show now that this team is a team that can go places. Returning to where we began today, a win today against the team that denied us going to, in the process precipitating a mini collapse, would be a good start. As Hull won on their first trip to the Grove, let's return the favour on our first trip to the charmingly named KC Stadium. There is no real team news to speak of, Alex Song may return to the side. He may not. Otherwise, it's as you were. 

Dennis Bergkamp was on Arsenal TV last night in a "Bob Wilson Meets..." special. At this point, I can't tell you much about what he said because I haven't had a chance to watch it yet. Though, as you probably know already, he did say that he wouldn't rule out working at Arsenal at some stage and in some capacity. I can only echo the thoughts of other bloggers when I say that, to me, the idea of a man like Bergkamp passing on his knowledge, and obvious love for the club, to the guys of the future... well, it makes me wet, to be honest with you. What an education it would be to work under this guy.

Ivan Gazidis has written to the AST. It's not quite a mission statement, but what he has to say is encouraging, I think. He hasn't come here to preside over a middling club pretending to be a big one. And as Kevin Whitcher points out, it's good to be thought of as "supporters" rather than "customers". Recognition from the board that there would be no club without the supporters, at last. That stadium for example, yes it may have come about as a result of the hard work of the Arsenal board, but- like the club-  it belongs to us. At least, in my opinion and that  fact should be recognised too. 

The gaffer has had his say on the craziness engulfing Manchester City. Who knew in the summer that when they talked of signing Kaka, they were actually going to back it up? To me, this transfer deal- if the figures being quoted are accurate- can be summed up in one word. And that word is "obscene". How typical of the man with the economics degree to sum it all so succinctly. I'm all for showing ambition, but it's fairly obvious that with City languishing near the foot of the table, the only temptation for Kaka is a financial one. And as David Seaman said last night, in a piece of Arsenal TV I did catch, the good players get the the money anyway. He was, of course, talking about Cesc and the possibility of him being tempted by big money elsewhere.

Speaking of temptation, (a theme of this blog today it seems) Arsène is  "very hopeful" of signing Arshavin. Though he did add the famous and feared "if it doesn't happen it doesn't happen". No! Arsène, no! You must make it happen and by the time I get home, please. I'm kidding there... Seriously though, what's interesting is that halfway through the window, we're chasing this guy who, with everyone fit, might not be deemed essential and meanwhile there is a big Flamini, Gilberto and Diarra sized hole in our central midfield yet to be filled. Sort it out.

A big champion of Carlos Vela this season and how could I not be after personally witnessing his goals in the Carling Cup this season, but I've been joined by RvP- he's been talking a lot this week, hasn't he? Anyway, he says that when it comes to Carlos Vela,  "it's all good". And so it is.

 Laters.

On the way home last night, I picked up a London Lite. Unusually for me, I read the paper front to back, finishing with the sports section, and then I came across something that gave me quite a bit of pleasure. For years and years we endured referee sanctioned assault at the hands of Bolton- the most memorable, or notorious, occasion being in the spring of 2003 when three ridiculous tackles resulted in three Arsenal substitutions being required in something like 20 minutes. Arsenal duly surrendered a 2-0 lead to draw 2-2 and with it, effectively, their hard won Premiership crown. We football fans have long memories and so, with Arsenal beating Bolton, again- we haven't lost to them for something like 3 years now (so much for bogeymen)- it was so gratifying to hear Kevin Davies complaining about Arsenal's attitude to the game on Saturday. The phrase, one that Fat Sam used to like using a lot back in the day, springs to mind. What was it? Oh yeah, "sour grapes".

Robin van Persie's response? A brilliant dismissal of Bolton's approach as not being "proper football". Robin seems to be, and I say "seems" because I haven't seen enough of him to say for definite, playing some great stuff at the moment, he's getting the goals when we need to them. He's making chances, he maybe is becoming the player people thought he was going to be 4 years ago. No doubt this is due to the fact that he hasn't (I'm touching wood as I type) had an injury for ages, he's also become one of the focal points of the team. A few months ago I was very down on him, but I'm enjoying my humble pie with lashings of cream, mmmm, tasty! The return of Eduardo no longer seems as urgent as it once did, unless it is to displace Adebayor. Robin also acknowledged the frustration we're feeling right now, saying he wants to win something this season, but backed the manager and the club's long term vision. Talking the talk and walking the walk, I like it Robin!

Arsène has spoken, briefly, about Samir Nasri and his change in position on Saturday afternoon. The switch to the centre probably suited Samir down to the ground. And so it suited us. I like Arsène's self deprecating "accidental idea" line. As if sending Vela on to play on the wing, and pushing Samir inside to replace Diaby was something crazy radical and that it worked was just a happy accident. We know Samir made his "bones" playing behind a striker, so his proficiency in the centre is not surprising. I would like him to play a more central role. But I don't see how it could happen without dropping Robin or Ade. And to drop RVP at the moment would surely be crazy radical. Dropping Ade might not be so, but it seems unlikely.

Whilst Andrei Arshavin bats his lashes at us, Yaya the Younger's agent has said that he won't be going anywhere this January and being one to take somebody's words at face value (I'm so trusting), it seems to me that if Yaya does leave Barcelona in the summer- which he would be mad to do, in my opinion- he'll be going somewhere where he can earn mega money. So Manchester City rather than Arsenal.

Final thought for the day, given the level of discontent being aired on forums and websites, it's amazing to think that we are only four points behind Chelsea. They are only four points behind Liverpool. Anything is possible. Not likely, I know, but still...

One of the great things about writing a blog is that you can make yourself look really clever, by saying something and seeing something happen that immediately makes you like a genius. Or, on the other hand, you say something about someone and it comes back and bites you on the arse. This can happy very quickly too. I remember writing an article for the Gooner about 3 years ago, suggesting Freddie Ljungberg was well past his best. And most people I spoke to agreed with me, but it didn't stop Freddie putting in a man of the match performance the day the issue containing the article went on sale. In fairness though, that game and a couple afterwards really represented the last great roar of our super swede.

Anyway, I suggested yesterday that Nick Bendtner should perhaps be plying his trade elsewhere, and bugger me if he doesn't pop up with a late, late winner to sink a rather defensive Bolton. That being said however, it was only his second league goal of the season, his first was against.... that's right, Bolton! You wonder what goes through a manager's head sometimes though. I know it's almost accepted wisdom that any team wanting to take Arsenal on in an open football match at the Grove will get slaughtered, but didn't Hull City show us all that isn't neccesarily the case? So when Gary Megson sets up his team to play so defensively, to nick a point and they fall to a late winner, what rational reason can he have to be "disappointed" for his players? Perhaps in his lack of ambition?  

Likewise, our man. The gaffer, le boss, le professeur. Without Fabregas, without Rosicky, with Walcott, we have- with the exception of Nasri- one of the most pedestrian midfields an Arsenal fan will have seen over the last twelve years. But still the skill and pace of Carlos Vela is deemed enough only for the bench. Is it any wonder that Ben's words to me on Friday, which went something like "I don't think I'll be missing out on fifty quids worth of entertainment tomorrow" ring so true? In mitigation, it seems like the arrival of Vela might have helped to turn the tide yesterday afternoon. And with Liverpool drawing at Stoke, with Chelsea and United about to go head to head, we will have made ground on two, if not three, of the teams considered to be title challengers. Pesky, lucky, Aston Villa!

Meanwhile, with compelling evidence yesterday afternoon that perhaps a creative player is needed just as much as a midfield enforcer, according to Zenit St Petersburg, we've had an Arshavin bid rejected. The bid is said to be around £10m and it is rumoured that Manchester City, though where they would fit this guy in- what with SWP and Robinho- is anyone's guess, are now looking to gazump us. The bastards.

I mentioned the gaffer a couple of paragraphs back, and the veteran of numerous slanging matches with "Mr Ferguson"- wisely, in my opinion- has refrained from getting involved with Rafa Benitez and his hilarious attack on that knight of the realm. "I do not know what it was about". Nice one, Arsène.

I've just seen Tottenham will end the weekend in the bottom three, due to an injury time winner for Wigan.

As I write, people will be taking their seats (or not in some cases- Ben) at a rather cold stadium to watch Arsenal try and reduce what has now become a 6 point gap between us and Aston Villa. I caught a bit of the second half of their game against Villa and Jay Simpson showed some very nice footwork, and awareness of players around him. With better players, he may have been able to do his parent club a favour. Ah well. In fact, the BBC's player rater had him leading the way at half time, so despite the fact the Baggies were losing, he was obviously doing something right. I do feel it's a shame we couldn't have kept him at the club and sent someone like, oooh, Bendtner maybe away. For me Jay Simpson is one of our sparkier forwards, not that he doesn't have a lot to learn and improving to do, but he would certainly offer us something we don't have currently. Especially in the absence of Theeeeoooo.  

This afternoon's fixture against Bolton is now the latest in a lengthening line of "must win" games. The line up is not, entirely unexpectedly; Almunia;Sagna, Toure, Djourou, Clichy; Eboue, Diaby, Denilson, Nasri; Adebayor, Van Persie. Subs: Fabianski, Vela, Ramsey, Wilshere, Bendtner, Bischoff, Gibbs.

We wanted Ramsey, we get Eboue. Oh well, them's the breaks. Looking at that bench, I do worry what would happen if we were losing the game with 20 minutes left. We seem very light, but then you can't keep going on about how great Vela, Ramsey and Wilshere are if you're not going to trust them in a pressure situation, can you?

Kolo Toure meanwhile, has completed a remarkable turnaround; from the stories of a transfer request and clearing his locker out, to Arsenal captain in little over a week. I have to say, what a relief. Relief that it is not Average Al captaining the side and relief that Toure has stepped back from the brink. I genuinely didn't want the guy to leave. Interesting too, that although Arsène added a "when he plays" rider, it would seem to indicate Toure does still have a big future in the first team which can only spell trouble for the man he's had a complete breakdown in relationship with. Okay, okay, keep it down at the back there... I'm glad Kolo has got over his travails and look forward to seeing his commitment and passion in full effect over the coming weeks.

Come on you Gunners! 

On a frankly freezing north London afternoon, normal service resumes and just in time for a Bolton preview.

 Other blogs will have told you about Emmanuel Adebayor's comments on William Gallas' comments. You won't be surprised to hear I agree with Emmanuel, though it has to be said, I don't think there's an Arsenal fan from Aberdeen to the Isle of Wight who didn't agree with what he said, just how he did it. Emmanuel also reckons we can still win the title. Not so sure about that myself, big man, but then around a year ago, I couldn't see us finishing lower than second, so who knows?

The boss has been talking up our defense as "solid" of late, which leads me to wonder if his infamous "I didn't see it" catchphrase is less a diversion than an indication of how much of a game the boss sees stood down on the touchline. Certainly, nobody who witnessed the Aston Villa game would talk of our defending as particularly solid. Though I do think Djourou (yes, him again) has certainly improved things at the back. As has the return of Sagna. Kolo makes his return to the team, his first game since making and then withdrawing a transfer request. It does seem very convenient that as Kolo returns to full fitness, Gallas once again succumbs to hamstring trouble- conspiracy shenanigans afoot in N5, surely not! I don't think the loss of Micky Silvester is going to cause anyone a sleepless night.

It's interesting that Kolo made this request apparently due to the breakdown of his relationship with Gallas as Djourou seems to have cemented his place in the starting line up. Of course, Kolo was talking up his partnership with Gallas, a piece of PR that nobody really believed in, not too many months ago. It has been put to me that as Gallas is more or less likely to leave in the summer, we're better off sticking with the guy closer to everyone's hearts. I can certainly agree with that, but the truth is nobody knows what Gallas will do in the summer. As I said initially, I hope it works out and they both stay. There's room in the Arsenal first team squad for both of them, so come together brothers!

When talking up our defensive solidity, le boss also said, the creative side would come back with confidence. I think his cause would be helped by playing players who are likely to create in the midfield. Players like Aaron Ramsey, for example. Okay, you might not want to start him against Bolton, but analyse it, why is he any less likely to cope than Denilson, or sicknote Diaby for that matter? You can analyse too much though, nobody thought the midfield Arsène selected at the Reebok a few months back would play as spectacularly as it did. Denilson had a great game that day, lest we forget. A quick word about Gary Megson who has quite rightly pointed out that Abou Diaby could have injured a Bolton player or two (in fact he did a couple of years back) in recent fixtures. Fair enough Gary, but Abou's not malicious, he's just a clumsy tackler. You have serial offenders who specifically go out out to hit people hard. Like Kevin Davis, like Kevin Nolan. And generally they get away with it, whereas Abou got himself sent off with his tackle last season. Consistency.

It seems that whilst a gun or two may have been jumped in the print media, Arshavin is an ongoing project. But a defensive midfielder is a priority. And quite right too. Allegedly, not content with tapping up cashley whilst at Chelsea, it seems Mourinho's Internazionale have been messing with Abou Diaby and Emmanuel Eboue. Why? I don't know either.

Finally, it's becoming apparent that the prices of a match ticket are becoming too much for Gooners, in the middle of recession and after Christmas, the attendance against Plymouth was widely held to be around 52,000 and though the game tomorrow is "sold out", I think we can assume there will be more thena a few red seats visible tomorrow. There is an argument that you support your team regardless, but I do think that the board expecting people to shell out fifty notes to watch the current team in the current times, well... they're having a laugh, aren't they? What would be great, apart from a price reduction which will never happen, is if everyone at the game tomorrow went to the game and went there to enjoy themselves. If you're going and you're reading this, then having spent that money, why not go and enjoy yourself rather than sitting like a lemon in a library?

The last few days have not been a lot of fun for me; assaulted by bugs that have invaded my chest, my throat, my head, my everywhere in a massive attack on my system. Hence my continued cyberspace silence- in cyberspace nobody can hear you scream. Or sneeze. Or cough. But as the effects of the bug, or bugs, begin to leave me, I rise from my sickbed to check out t'interweb, and reading the comments section relating to my latest blog, reproduced over at Arsenal-Mania, I begin to wonder what kind of people read my blogs.

My blogs, my blog.

Not your blog  and not the Kolo Toure Appreciation Society blog.

For what it's worth, I've said it once and I'll say it again, I don't think he's the player he once was but I hope he sorts it out and ends up staying with us. I don't blame him for our travails this season, indeed he hasn't featured enough to be blamed- but even if he had, we win as a team, and so we lose as one. Figure it out lads, the guy was, up until the ACN last year the mainstay of our defence across 4 seasons, but he, of late has found himself behind Djourou, even behind Silvestre in the pecking order. Is that really the sign of a player on top of his game? No, of course it isn't. I don't think pointing that out is; a) blaming Toure or, b) not being supportive of the team as a whole. My only point, the one that you need to take away from this with you if you want to respond, is that whatever his love for the club, I think William Gallas is a better player than Kolo. And if you disagree with that, then okay let's agree to disagree. But do not give me the "You're not supporting your team" bullshit. Because that's what it is, bullshit.

Moving on, in this week in which the transfer window begins to move through the gears and Ivan Gazidis gets his CEO seat warm (and about time too!), with the print media speculating about the possibility of Theo Walcott doing a runner, despite having 18 months left on his current contract and the first team in dire need of central midfield reinforcements, Arsenal have made their first signings of the transfer window.

Jack Wilshere I should think you would have heard about already, although I haven't seen it on the website (not saying it isn't there), it's been said that this an 8 year contract. Which is quite a commitment from Arsenal and would take him up to the age of 25, I wonder how much money he's on... Somewhat less heralded, is the professional terms signing of Conor Henderson, also a 17 year old midfielder. Beyond that, I don't know much about him. That is to say nothing at all.

Elsewhere, whilst discounting Gokhan Inler as a target, the boss- very sensibly, in my view- has said that Euro ineligibility will not be a deal breaker for any potential signing. As I pointed out before, with half a league season still to play, and the possibility of playing only a further two games in Europe- and yes, just in case you're not sure, I hope there's more, not to sign somebody on the basis that they can't play against Roma would be the very summit of madness.

Emmanuel Eboue now knows he's right sided midfielder apparently. And just to show how wild the Christmas spirit can get, his woeful performances across the last year and a half have seen him receive many Christmas cards and messages of support from the fans. Wait, that's not very supportive of me, is it? Well, it's true, the fans doing this have done this because they feel for the guy who got booed all the way down the tunnel a few weeks back, but he was only booed because he was so poor, and has been so poor. In all seriousness, he is an Arsenal player, as with Kolo, so of course he should be supported, should feel supported, by everyone connected with the club.

Finally, hoping to finish on a non controversial note, el capitán has a dream. A Wembley dream. Perhaps it's more a mission, I don't know. What I do know is he hopes to be fit for any potential semi final and then for the Final, which is scheduled- remarkably lately this season- for May 30. Let's hope we're still active by then.  By the way, speaking of the FA Cup, why is it Carlos Vela still can't get a start for us? He's looked brilliant in cameos and the Carling Cup, surely he is the kind of attacking player we should be encouraging, not leaving to rot on the bench whilst Bendtner struggles?

 Happy new year Tam.

UPDATE: Zenit St Petersburg confirm Arshavin talks with Arsenal are ongoing. Excited? I am. Even if there are legitimate doubts over a 28 year old who's not hit the big time yet.  Anyone remember how old Ian Wright was when we signed him?