In some corners, this was meant to be the partnership in the Arsenal defensive midfield. Our ‘German of Africa’, Song would thrive with the Albania midfield dictator and conquer the world. Well, that was the talk anyway.

In fact at some point last season there were even calls for Arsene to sell Song, Denilson and Diaby because none of them were worthy of Cana’s shirt. Lorik Cana, the ultimate hardman. So hard he would literally dig up the ground with his bare hands and bury the opposition weaklings there.

Frightened by this prospect obviously, now that he plays for the mighty Sunderland, the biggest club in the north-east by default, I decided to do a little research from the Premiership games so far. You can choose whatever statistics you want but I chose 3.

Passes, Tackles and Interceptions. Let us see who out of Song and Cana comes out top in these areas.

1. Passing

In this passes comparison, you can see that Song has attempted significantly more passes and completes them more accurately than Cana. A good defensive midfielder from what I believe is one that dictates the tempo and accurate passes, preferably short ones, help to achieve this aim. So clearly here, Song is the winner.

2. Tackles

As far as tackling goes, Cana averages more tackles per game so far in the Premiership than Song. It shows his competitive nature and yet, he still comes up short in the accuracy stakes. Song’s worst game in terms of tackling was against Blackburn where all the challenges he lost were the aerial battles. Even against Wigan where he attempted an incredible 21 tackles, the 5 that he lost were in the air. However, Cana isn’t the strongest in the air as proven in the game against Hull where 6 of the 7 tackles he lost were all aerial battles.

3. Interceptions

When it comes to the interceptions part of the DM role, Song wins this hands down. For a man whose worst game was in the 6-2 win vs Blackburn, it speaks volumes of his commitment to plug the gaps that appear in our defense. If Song played in a catenaccio system, I dare not think how good he would be.

To be fair on Cana, it is his first season in the Premiership and he can only get better. The numbers however appear rather minimalistic and perhaps that is why Arsene didn’t sign him. Imagine Cana in an Arsenal team where he was the only midfielder assigned to defensive duties. I can’t see him emerging with much credit.

Something else I found incredible about Cana was that in the two home games against Liverpool and Chelsea he managed a total of 14 passes. Now isn’t that staggering? And this is the Sunderland team that under Bruce plays a high tempo game. I think we can call him Mr Reluctant when it comes to passing at least. To put it in perspective Song’s quietest game was at Fulham and he still attempted 38 passes.

Even though Song lost on the number of tackles made per match, the Cameroonian’s understanding of the game gets better and that is reflected in interceptions and ability to keep our beautiful game flowing.

With another humiliating defeat against a top club (now Chelsea then Manchester United), Arsene Wenger will be targeting a solid and experienced defender. The last two games at the Emirates stadium saw Gunners conceding 7 goals. Arsenal defense is the major led down in the recent years, just compare the back four a few years back and now you will feel the drastic difference. The well known William Gallas controversy is also a reason for the defensive depletion and also he is aging, so replace him with a guy who can fill him as a central defender a prolific scorer in dead ball situations, only Joleon Lescott come to my mind, he was the highest scoring defender in 2007 2008 season with eight goals and this season he has scored some crucial goals for Everton. Arsene just go for him, but it would cost 10 million pounds. If Arsenal F C not willing to pay that much for a defender then trade Gallas to A C Milan who are reported to be interested in his service and get some funds to get Lescott.

Joleon Lescott | Joleon Lescott For Arsenal

Another area where Arsenal can be strengthened is in the central midfield. They need a good solid experienced defensive midfielder. I’m not satisfied with the inconsistent display by Alex Song, may be he is too young to be a defensive midfielder of such a attacking side. According to me Xabi Alanso will be perfect to live up to the most difficult and most important job in Football and also he will combine well with Fabregas and release him as an attacking midfielder, few matches ago we saw how effective Fabregas could be as a attacker rather than holding back. Rest of the midfield is unchangeable with the likes Andrei Arshavin, Theo Walcott, Samir Nasri and Denilson in the squad.

Xabi Alonso and Cesc Fabregas

Arsenal doesn’t need strikes they have all kinds of attackers they have strong Adebayor, technical Robin Van Persie, natural finisher Eduardo and swift Carlos Vela. Note I didn’t mention Bendtner, I don’t want him in the team he is not a gunner. His goal tally of 15 this season will help Wenger to trade him to a good price. I completely accept with Wenger who recently said that Arsenal don’t need strikers and also he said “We are unstable at the back”, so the two players I have mentioned would be the ideal targets for the next season 2009-2010.

At the time of writing, there are just three, yes three days, count them, only three days to go in the transfer window. I am of course, not the manager of Arsenal and there is probably a good reason for that, but in my opinion we still need two players signed in those three days. This is on a par with how I tended to deal with University assignments. Now, Arsene Wenger is an educated man and he looks like the kind of guy who would get things done ahead of time – he just doesn’t seem like someone who doesn’t plan and ad lib’s his way through life. So this leaves me confused – why the hell is he leaving this so late? Is it for the adrenalin rush? Is he a performer who likes to keep his audience guessing? 

Last week, a few people took it upon themselves to criticise me for my low assessment of Emmanuel Eboué. For anyone who saw the Fulham game, it would be fair to say Eboué was the better performer of the two central midfielder’s. But that is somewhat of a moot point because Dr Stephen Hawking, wheelchair and all, would probably have been the standout in that midfield pairing alongside the nightmare that was Denilson. Now, i’m sure Eboué is 100 times the football than I, or many people will ever be, but to be heading into a top flight league game as one of the contenders for the league title with him in the midfield is a clear indication that not all is well at the club. I doubt there are many sides in the Premier League who would choose to start him at the heart of their team, and sadly the point I was trying to make last week has been laid bare for every Gooner to see after the debacle at Craven Cottage. 

There are certainly more questions than answers that have come out of the weekends match, a few of which have been answered with our 4 – 0 overnight thrashing of Twente in the Champions League qualifier. But I thought i’d use this weeks column to just throw some of these out there: 

- Which position does Arsene Wenger see Alex Song as playing? Last week he mentioned the names of Diaby, Denilson, Ramsey along with Song as contenders for the midfield, yet brought him on at Centre Back in place of Touré. In his 12 or so minutes he actually looked reasonably good, adding to his displays at the tail end of last season where he started to prove himself to the doubting fans (myself included). But with Denilson playing as poorly as I can remember an Arsenal player in recent history, why then did he not throw him on into the midfield alongside Eboué? 

- On that note, and as discussed on a few other blog’s this week, if Arsene isn’t prepared to throw on Ramsey or Wilshire when those on the pitch are struggling, just what is the point of having them on the bench? If he intends to give them a run only when we are 3 or 4 goals up, then it would seem to me that the squad is alarmingly light on numbers. 

- Just how well regarded is Djourou? Is Song now ahead of him in the pecking order? If after a loan spell and a few chances to push for a spot in the first team, he isn’t considered good enough to even be third choice, why are we holding on to him but letting Senderos move to Milan on loan? And why did we send Senderos on loan and replace him with an injured 31 year old who isn’t likely to be fit until mid-September? When we have a long injury list and a recent history of players failing to recover to schedule this seems a risky move. If Gallas or Touré were to injure themselves seriously, we would be left with Song or Djourou to start in the back line – neither of whom were considered candidates even for the bench until recently. 

- Will Van Persie and Adebayor gel as a front pairing? Until Bendtner came on late in the second half, it seemed like an awkward union up front. Meanwhile the promising pre-season form of Carlos Vela hasn’t been enough to get him any game time in the league. I’m not sure if he was injured or just not available to be selected but either way, with Eduardo out until later this year, to only have one player on the bench with any Premier League goals to their name (Bendtner) is a real worry. Alongside Ramsey and Wilshire was goalkeeper Fabianski, Kieran Gibbs and Johann Djourou. Yes we have injuries but why fill up the squad with players you don’t trust? Arsene only made two substitutions on the weekend, which is strange considering how poorly he felt they had played. Obviously despite the new seven man bench, we really only had a few players with any realistic chance of getting a game. 

Has Arsene been caught out with his transfer plans?. It seems Wenger was confident of signing Gokhan Inler, even to the point where he announced he was hoping to have someone in by Wednesday. Unfortunately that transfer didn’t go as planned, and with Steven Gerrard injuring himself, the chances of Liverpool releasing Xabi Alonso seems more unlikely than ever. Arsene had talked about how financially speaking it was better to wait until later in the window, but I wonder if our obvious need for a midfielder after the weekends performance, will actually drive up the price from any club who knows how desperate we have become. 

Still, perhaps all is not lost. I don’t believe it is a coincidence that as soon as Fabregas was fit to play, the team clicked and put 4 goals in. Certainly if we can keep Cesc fit, and with Rosicky to return, I don’t think we are in danger of dropping into mid-table mediocrity like some trigger happy Gooners have suggested. I wonder if it is legal to field Cesc covered in bubble wrap each week? 

By Paul Wright – Allgoonerdup roving report

‘Thomas – it’s up for grabs now’ – Where was you?

As part of this season and trying to tie in with all the 20th anniversary shenanigans of that famous last minute championship win, allgoonerdup.com is doing a ‘JFK where was you moment’. But obviously the moment we’re doing is – ‘Thomas – it’s up for grabs now’ moment. Every Gooner knows where they were when that goal went in and we’re going to publish your tails. The idea is do one Gooner’s piece a day, so get amongst it and send your emails in via the contacts page and mark the subject line ‘Thomas – it’s up for grabs moment’. I’ll be doing some sort of fancy graphic and that just to give the piece some ‘air play’. But get your emails in and hopefully we’ll get the ball rolling next week with your ‘Thomas – where was you moment’.

Win a new tee…

That’s right you can be the owner of this spanking brand new bit of kit ‘The Joy of Cesc’ from our Online Shop.

All you need to do is tell us, and keep those eyes peeled people because we’re changed the question, on what famous 1970’s book is the tee ‘The Joy of Cesc’ based on? Simple? Great – now get involved and let us know your your answer, name, address and t-shirt size via the contact form and mark it ‘T-shirt competition’. Lovely, job done. 

60 Second Round-up

Majority share holder Danny ‘Diamond Geezer’ Fitzman says we’ve got a shedload of cash if Le Gaffer wants to spend it. I’m not sure about the statement ‘if he WANTS to spend it’ Wenger needs to fecking spend it. I really don’t see us challenging for the title or Uefa Champions league trophy unless we add to the team. I’m not getting carried away with out win against FC Twente. Don’t get me wrong Gooner’s I’m not being all ‘bah humbug’ but the Dutch side are about on par with a League Two team, we wouldn’t exactly get excited about caning one of those teams now would we? I think it’s plain to see especially after the Fulham debacle we do need strengthening as when our first choice players are out we’re desperately thin on the ground.

Le Gaffer has promised us a lot in the past, even as last season was ending he promised to keep the team together. Now I’m not going to have a go at him there, Wenger hasn’t got control over players if they really want to leave, so that is completely out of his hands. But he can address what needs to be done, lets hope he does it. The money is there, go and spend it. It’s not as if it’s going to do us any good having money in the bank when we need ‘quality’ players on the pitch. Not sure about you Gooner’s though but I’m not holding my breath to see what players Le Gaffer will (or wont) bring in. I’m not sure why I’m not getting excited but Le Gaffer has promised a lot in the pass and hasn’t delivered. I hope that’s an old Jedi mind trick and Le Gaffer brings in a world class player!

We are Arsenal

Good day to all you Gooner’s out there.

Well all I can say is that we won, that’s it, oh and thank feck that FC Twente strikers are about as lethal as a doughnut, not the ones with jam inside, the ones you see in the Sainsbury’s bakery bit with the hundred’s and thousand’s – who buys those? Anyway I digress FC Twente are a poor side when it comes to finishing although they play a great passing game. At times they reminded me of The Arsenal (without the flair) with their quick one-twos and passing in triangles. When I say they remind me of The Arsenal I don’t mean The Arsenal that played last night because they played like Bolton the amount of times the ball was in the air I thought my neck was going to give, I mean The Arsenal we know and love that can play the short passing game. I wont knock our team as we won, I wont say it was convincing but we won. 

One thing I would say is that I think Le Gaffer is papering over the cracks citing that the team was very young, well you know what, it shouldn’t be now should it? I’m not sure how many ‘big’ teams would field a 20 year old and a 17 year old in the middle of the park. I know injuries to key players are partly to blame for fielding these youngsters, however timing and a cheque book could of put a potential disaster completely out of mind. Well as I’ve said we won but there was some woeful performances out there and if anything the game does show how paper thin we are when we lose key players. I mean come on Emmanuel Eboué playing on the left wing? FFS! I know Wenger subscribes to the idea of Totaalvoetbal but I think he’s taking it too far now. Eboué is many things, he is a great athlete, but a a greater actor but he certainly isn’t no left sided player, Abou Diaby must be spinning on his treatment table bed. 

I’ve seen on some sites Gooner’s arguing with each other about spending money and injured players etc. However you can’t legislate for the injuries we’ve got already, no one would of thought The Cesc would be injured or new boy Samir Nasri but I think the clever money would be Abou Diaby not playing more than three games in a row and the less said about Tomáš Rosický the better – he makes Darren Anderton positively seem almost Frank Lampard-like, no I don’t mean a fat kebab eating chav but not missing something like 100+ Premier League games in a row. I know surprising isn’t it that Frank Lumpard has a record like that I think it’s something to do with a bonus of every game played he gets to go the Fat Fuk Chinese on Brompton Road and do the all you can eat menu. 

Anyway Gooner’s joking aside, we were dire – I actually missed the first goal as I was texting my brother Brian and keeping him in the loop as he doesn’t have Setanta and even when we scored I didn’t get overly excited. I’m glad we won, of course I am – I just think we need to seriously address what we have in the middle of the park and not have to rely on two youngsters to get us to a big fat mouthwatering prize worth potentially £10-£15m. Also with Aaron Ramsey we only bought him in the summer when many thought he was going to sign up for Manchester USA, who the hell would play in the middle if we didn’t have him? Another 17 year old, a 16 year old? Could you imagine if we lost or drew that game? The money Wenger thinks he’s saving or more to the point not spending wouldn’t be an issue as there would be huge pressure on us and the worst case scenario would be too horrific to consider. I know one player with experience we wont be getting is Xabi Alonso as the hubcap nicking, shell suit wearing, giro getting Liverpool Scallies USA played him in their 0-0 draw with Belgium champions Standard Liege – so bang goes that signing. But as much as I faith in the kids we need some much needed experience to help them out. We got away with it last night but a better team and yes there will be better will punish us. However I will say – well done boys! And Wenger please get your wallet out before it’s too late.

Reports emanating from Switzerland today suggest that Udinese midfielder Gökhan Inler is set to join Arsenal on a 4-year contract by next week.

According to Swiss sports daily Blick, the 24-year-old will seal a deal in the coming days before joining up with Swiss national team mate’s Philippe Senderos and Johan Djourou.

Dino Lamberti, Inler’s agent, was rumoured to have told newspaper Blick that talks with Arsenal boss Arsene Wenger went well.

“It is true that I met with Arsène Wenger. There were very positive talks.”

Udinese general director Pietro Leonardi rejected reports linking the hardman with a transfer to Arsenal last month by dismissing the reports as ‘absurd’, these latest updates suggest different.

Inler joined Udinese from Swiss side FC Zurich in 2007, and made 32 appearances for them last season, and has 15 caps for Switzerland.

Wenger is said to have been in contact with Udinese management, and knows the 6′0″ defense-minded midfielder has a get-out clause in his contract of just over £5M.

After Mathieu Flamini swapped London for Lombardy with his Bosman to AC Milan in early May, Arsenal was left with a gap in midfield. To further complicate the matter Gilberto has now completed a move Panathinaikos and Lassana Diarra, a natural successor to Flamini’s role, “panicked” and left for Portsmouth. With the position still unresolved and the start of the season fast approaching, should Wenger seek to promote from within or bring in a new signing to stabilise the midfield?

There is no denying that Flamini’s departure will come as a disappointment to most Arsenal fans. In his fist full season as a starting player his partnership with Cesc Fabregas created some of the most fluid and intimidating play in the Premier League. Flamini’s countrymen Diarra had both the ability and the vision to slot into Flamini’s place if he was to leave, as predicted from early on. However, this simple transition was not to be and a desperate Diarra sought refuge at Portsmouth.

Frustration lies in the motives behind each of the player’s moves. Flamini’s move appeared to be driven by nothing else but money, an accusation he subsequently denied, although it still remains a mystery to me why any player looking for world class football would move from a team set to play Champions League football to one set to play in the UEFA cup. Diarra’s motives were much easier to stomach as he sought to win a place in the French squad for Euro 2008. The irony came when he failed to appear in any of France’s three games.

With Flamini and Diarra long gone, now comes the time to fill the gap that is left in midfield. From within the squad there are a few players who could fit the bill. One player, that former Arsenal midfielder Stewart Robson sees as the possible new Flamini, is Abou Diaby. “He breaks up attacks with his ability to get across the field and get tackles in, but he has also got good ability on the ball. His ball manipulation allows him to change the point of attack. Playing against Everton last year he was outstanding in the holding role.” Robson arguments sound convincing, but last season Diaby became more accustomed to being used on the wings rather than in the role of holding midfielder. It brings up questions about how long Diaby would take to fully adapt to the role.

Denilson is another contender for the position and the young Brazilian has shown promise in midfield during last season’s Carling Cup campaign. Diaby and Denilson are the only realistic replacements from the current squad, and of the two Diaby has to be the favourite. Last season Diaby was unfortunate to spend chunks of the season injured, but when he played he showed the raw passing ability that fully compliments Arsenal’s game. Not only that but Diaby also possesses and eye for goal that would increase the overall offensive threat of the midfield. If Wenger isn’t preparing to sign a new midfielder then I think we’ll be seeing a whole lot more of Abou Diaby. It all comes down to how quickly he can adapt to a new and integral role in the team.

Arsenal’s squad has the depth to fill the void in midfield but it would not come as a surprise at all if Wenger decides to recruit a new player to do the job instead. I feel that there are a few players who would really fit the bill, but the main focus has to be on Gareth Barry. Barry had an excellent season captaining Aston Villa with nine goals and ten assists (7th overall in the Premier league) to his name. Barry has sublime passing ability and superb vision that saw him promoted to the England starting line-up ahead of Frank Lampard, a position he keeps to this day with the blessing of Fabio Capello.

There is no doubt in my mind that Barry would be an excellent signing for Arsenal. Barry would provide invaluable experience to a very young squad and add some mental toughness to a team that looked to lacking in that department towards the end of last season. At 27, Barry would be one of the oldest players in the Arsenal first team and as captain of Aston Villa he has proved that he has great leadership skills. With the leadership of William Gallas questioned by just about everyone last season, introducing Barry to the team would provide the team with a possible new captain although more likely is that he would give the younger players another experienced figure to look to for guidance if the leadership of Gallas fails like it did last season.

“Brilliant, let’s sign him right now then!” I hear you all scream. Well, there are a few snags to signing Barry. Liverpool has their heart set on the midfielder and have had a very public battle for his signature with Martin O’Neill and Aston Villa. It is said that Barry signing for Liverpool relied on Xabi Alonso moving to Juventus to raise the funds. With that deal falling through and their new transfer target being Robbie Keane, Barry might not be able to join Steven Gerrard and co.

The major qualm with bringing Barry to the Emirates is the amount of money it would take to make him an Arsenal player. Martin O’Neill has held out for around £18 million, rejecting Liverpool’s £15 million bid. It had been reiterated that Arsenal has the funds to make big signings, but Wenger is the most economical manager the league and he’ll only splash out if he really feels its worth it.

Just look at Arsenal’s record transfer, Sylvain Wiltord for £13 million back in 2000, now let’s put that in perspective: Liverpool – Torres, £20.2m, Man Utd. – Rio Ferdinand, £29.1m, Chelsea – Andriy Shevchenko, £30.8m. Wenger is not about to break the club’s record for a player he deems as surplus to requirement, which Barry might just be. Wenger has to make a decision on whether or not he feels Barry’s price in inflated and with confirmation that the club has already enquired about the midfielder, those thoughts exactly may be on Wenger’s mind as I write this. For me, Barry is a bumper package; you get an excellent passer of the ball, a goal scorer, a leader with a ton of experience.

So, there we have it, the complexity of the situation that is replacing Mathieu Flamini. Within the squad it’s Diaby vs. Denilson, with Wenger hinting that Ramsey may cause an upset. With the fantastic Marcos Senna signing a new 2-year contract at Villareal and talk about Torsten Frings seemingly dying down, signing Gareth Barry looks more and more appealing. Splashing £18m on Barry may slightly damage Wenger’s prudent reputation when it comes to the transfer market, but in today’s football finance climate £18m is not a lot and Arsenal need to compete. If I were Wenger, I’d make the £18m offer and see what happens.

Article by Andrew McPhail For Gooner Talk

Sometime it’s hard to judge the player star status before any major tournament like Euro, World Cup and Copa America. Do you still remember Karel Poborsky, Patrick Berger, Smicer fame rose from nowhere just because the performance in Euro 1996. So do the Roger Milla and Toto Schillaci (at the end of playing career) in World Cup 1990. 

Herewith my prediction in the list of the top 10 future stars (all age below 25 yrs) to watch in this year’s tournament.

1.  

Full name: Fernando Torres

Jersey No.: 9

Team: Spain

Position: Forward

Detailed position: Forward

Date of birth: 20.03.1984

Height: 186 cm

Weight: 78 kg

Club: Liverpool

2.

Full name: Bosingwa

Jersey No.: 4

Team: Portugal

Position: Defender

Detailed position: Right back

Date of birth: 24.08.1982

Height: 183 cm

Weight: 75 kg

Club: Porto / Chelsea

3.

Full name: Sergio Ramos

Jersey No.: 15

Team: Spain

Position: Defender

Detailed position: Right back, Centre back

Date of birth: 30.03.1986

Height: 183 cm

Weight: 73 kg

Club: Real Madrid

4.

Full name: Karim Benzema

Jersey No.: 9

Team: France

Position: Forward

Detailed position: Forward

Date of birth: 19.12.1987

Height: 183 cm

Weight: 73 kg

Club: Lyon

5.

Full name: Daniele De Rossi

Jersey No.: 10

Team: Italy

Position: Midfield

Detailed position: Defensive midfielder, Central midfielder

Date of birth: 24.07.1983

Height: 184 cm

Weight: 83 kg

Club: Roma

6.

Full name: Philipp Lahm

Jersey No.: 16

Team: Germany

Position: Defender

Detailed position: Right back, Left back

Date of birth: 11.11.1983

Height: 170 cm

Weight: 62 kg

Club: Bayern

7.

Full name: Franck Ribéry

Jersey No.: 22

Team: France

Position: Midfield

Detailed position: Right midfielder

Date of birth: 07.04.1983

Height: 173 cm

Weight: 62 kg

Club: Bayern

8.

Full name: Samir Nasri

Jersey No.: 11

Team: France

Position: Midfield

Detailed position: Attacking midfielder

Date of birth: 26.06.1987

Height: 175 cm

Weight: 75 kg

Club: Marseille

9.

Full name: Hamit Altıntop

Jersey No.: 22

Team: Turkey

Position: Defender

Detailed position: Right back, Right midfielder

Date of birth: 08.12.1982

Height: 183 cm

Weight: 82 kg

Club: Bayern

10.

Full name: Cristiano Ronaldo

Jersey No.: 7

Team: Portugal

Position: Forward

Detailed position: Right midfielder, Left midfielder

Date of birth: 05.02.1985

Height: 184 cm

Weight: 78 kg

Club: Man. United

Ask any self respecting football fan which club they want to see young players poached from, and they should tell you Crewe. Former manager Dario Gradi has built at the club a legendary academy and is responsible for many of the top talent currently plying their trade in this country.

Dean Ashton, Luke Varney, David Platt, Madjid Bougherra, Rob Hulse, Ashley Ward, Jermaine Wright, Robbie Savage, David Vaughan, Bruce Grobbelaar and Neil Lennon – all graduates of Gradi’s youth academy. Next apparently joining that long list of Crewe graduates moving onwards and upwards is Gary Roberts.

Don’t mix him up with the totally rubbish player that is Ipswich’s Gary Roberts - currently transfer listed and heading back to Accrington Stanley. This Gary Roberts is tipped for bid things by Dario Gradi.

His defensive mentality makes him very adept at sitting in front of the back four, and he is a capable set piece taker. Wikipedia describes him as operating “in a midfield role, either in the center or out on the right wing. Roberts also an eye for goal and can take both free-kicks and penalties.”

Sky Sports has linked him with a move as he has only 12 months left on his contract and is unlikely to sign another. With Crewe losing their talented keepers on Bosmans, they are reluctant to loose another in similar circumstances and apparently a clutch of clubs are interested. Norwich, Derby, Coventry, Leicester, Watford, Blackpool, Doncaster and Palace are amongst the sides keeping watch.

So with the official news that Mathieu Flamini has upped sticks and moved to AC Milan, what’s next for The Arsenal? At one point we had more midfielder’s we could shake a stick at, now we seem to be a bit light. What with Lassana Diarra sold in January and Flamini going for a ‘Bosman’ I really do not see Brazilian play maker (?) Gilberto being allowed to leave.

So what have we lost with Flamini going? Let’s no kid ourselves he was a good player, but and it’s a big but it was only for ONE SEASON. He had in my opinion and I am not dumbing down his role at The Arsenal because he’s gone, I wish him well, but seriously he had one really good season, you can make that two if you include our run to the Champions League Final in 2006 when he played out of his skin in a role not known to him at left back. Last summer The Flamster was making noises about not playing in his preferred midfield role, Wenger sat him down and said something along the lines of ‘I believe you can do, fight for your place and prove me right’. I’m not sure many Gooners would believe the transformation of the Frenchman or would of been too despondent if he was sold or bought out his contract, which he was threatening at the time. At that time I’m not sure whether AC Milan would of known who Flamini was. But think back Gooners at the time what clubs were after Flamini? It wasn’t the Milan’s or Juventus’ of this world. Birmingham City, that who was after Flamini last summer, so you can see how his stock has risen drastically in a year. We’ll miss him, but not a great deal, we sold Vieira and survived, we sold Thierry Henry and arguably we’re better for it – so putting it into perspective I don’t think the absence of Flamini will be detrimental to The Arsenal. Like I said before I am not knocking Flamini or dumbing down what he has done for us this season but he was cog in a well worked machine – Wenger will find another such cog. 

But who will he bring in? I’ve got a feeling Wenger will recruit from within, every paper and site has us lined up with defensive midfielder’s from France to the Faroe Islands (OK maybe not the Faroe Islands) but you get my drift. I think Wenger has been taken by surprise that Flamini decided to go so but I think he knows who he wants to play that role. Will we Arsenal fans be disappointed that he doesn’t go out and buy a ‘Gattuso’ or a ‘Claude Makélélé’? Probably but I think the likes of Johan Djourou, Diaby, Denilson or even the born again Alex Song will be promoted to the defensive midfield spot. Only time will tell I guess but this summer will prove to be an interesting affair, hopefully. There’s many a permutation and will evoke a lot of opinions. We’re not too far off of having a great team, but those one or two super players Wenger was saying he wants to buy in the summer may or may not include a midfielder – we’ll see. whatever Wenger decides he does need to replace Flamini with a decent experienced squad member to swell our numbers again. 

Cheers Jens: A player most people knew was on his way out this summer,Jens Lehmann got a great send off in the 1-0 destruction of Everton over the weekend. Arsène Wenger has said he wanted to give young Pole Lukasz Fabianski a go in the remainder of the games but I think it was a great touch to give the mad German fella a 20 minute cameo in the last game at Ashburton Grove. Ze German mentalist had his fans and foes in equal measures, you don’t need me to tell you that, but whatever you thought of him – all I can say is a big thank you Jens.

Here we again: Arsenal kingpin Cesc Fabregas is already on the wanted list of Real Madrid, who’s president Ramon Calderon says he wants to make the newly crowned champions ‘more Spanish’. Great news that Gooners, oh well at least we can tell summers here

Ladies at the Double: The Arsenal Ladies have gone and done it again, another double. Yesterday The Arsenal Ladies spanked Leeds United (easy!) 4-1 in a one-sided FA Cup FInal. Well done girls, that makes it about 15 trophies in the last couple of years for Vic Akers all conquering team