Perhaps some football tonight can take our minds off all the stuff like ...erm... football. Er... it's the return leg against Shteve McClaren'sh FC Twente and the good news is that Cesc Fabregas is fit.

The boss says he doesn't know if he's going to play him from the start or not but I think he will. I mean, what alternative does he have? We really don't have any central midfielders and if Cesc is fit then giving him as much time as possible to build up his sharpness and match fitness is vital. The manager knows a big peformance is vital after the Fulham debacle, saying:

I know my squad is good, my team is good, our spirit is good. We are intelligent enough to know we did not play well, but we know as well we have the needed quality to respond. We were not good last Saturday and lost. It’s as simple as that. We completely understand the criticism. It hurts terribly to lose like we did.

There's no question there's enough quality in the squad to get a good result and a pull out a decent performance tonight but it doesn't alter the fact there's a lack of midfield quality in the squad. The manager won't be panicked into buying though, saying.

I hate the idea that, whenever we have a bad game, the solution is to go out and buy. People still speak of the Invincibles but don’t forget that last year we lost only three games. We still have those players, so why should we not be capable of repeating that?

Here's the thing though. We don't have those players. We don't have Gilberto, Hleb, Flamini, Senderos or Hoyte, who all played their part during last season. And if you lose three quality central midfield players over a period of 6 months then replacing them, or even one of them, is not panic buying. It's common fucking sense.

It just seems that the more people suggest to Arsene that we need signings the more reluctant he is to do it. To be fair to him he hasn't given up on the idea and says:

If I can find one more player before the transfer deadline, I will take him. But one more player will not make that much difference. If we don’t get him, we’re still strong enough to deal with all the competitions.

To be honest I'm amazed at that statement, I really am. Another injury to Cesc and our midfield is essentially decimated. To say we're strong enough without a signing to cope with the league and the Champions League is just wrong, in my opinion. We weren't strong enough to cope with Fulham. How are we possibly strong enough to cope with Europe's elite? And here's the thing. Nobody has ever said they want Wenger to go out and spend £20m or £30m on any player. We saw last season that you can bring in quality like Sagna and Eduardo at good prices, and those are the kind of signings people would have been more than happy with. 

To me the most disheartening thing is that I really, honestly felt we were just a couple of players away from seriously improving the squad. Last year we were so good for so long and I thought a couple of canny additions to the squad would make all the difference. They'd give us that bit of depth and experience we missed at vital times last season and help us win trophies. But we've let so many players go and not replaced them that it seems like there's more work than ever to do. One step forward, three steps back. It's sad. 

The midfield has absolutely no depth whatsoever. Go beyond Fabregas and it lacks depth and quality. It's incredibly frustrating to the manager seems unwilling to acknowledge this. Now, perhaps he's just trying to talk up the players he's got available to him now. They probably do need a confidence boost after the Fulham result so that's the little ray of hope I'm clinging to but let's not forget the manager said something would 'certainly' be done in terms of a signing before this game. Now we don't necessarily need one.  

Anyway, I'm reminded of a broken record and I'm sorry for going on about it but every day there's something new and every day I find myself increasingly frustrated and anxious about the season ahead. I don't want to criticise but ultimately the blog is about my opinion and at the moment I'm really worried about this team. Still, let's try and focus on the game tonight. A good result and a good performance would definitely lift the clouds a little bit - a new player or two would bring the sun out though. 

The manager also explained the decision to let Philippe Senderos go to AC Milan. He says he hasn't decided whether or not it will be permanent or not but I don't think we'll see him in an Arsenal shirt again, which does make me a bit sad.  

He's also defended William Gallas saying we win as a team and lose as a team. Which is exactly what he said after Senderos made those errors against Liverpool last season. I sincerely hope he gave Gallas a proper chewing out for his crap defending against Fulham but you can't help feel some players are given more leeway than others. Meanwhile Lee Dixon, a man who knows a thing or two about it, has bemoaned the captain's lack of leadership. I do like Dixon as a pundit, he's not the usual bland, halfwit 'He's hit it and it's gone in' ex-footballer. When he talks about things like this, and it's not the first time he's had his say about Gallas, I think it's worth listening to.

Right, that's really about enough. I'm honestly hoping we can get things back on track tonight because whatever criticisms we have at the moment the 11 players who go out in our shirt tonight deserve our support. Yes, even him :big fuck off smiley:

More tomorrow. 

So our thin squad got even thinner yesterday with the news that Philippe Senderos has joined AC Milan on loan for the season with an option for a permanent move.

While some people thought the signing of Silvestre (out injured until mid-September, you know! Hurrah!) added some depth and experience to the squad it turns out he was brought in to replace the big Swiss. Gunnerblog today makes a lot of the points I was going to make about this and is a good read. It's true that things didn't work out as well as we hoped for Philippe, and perhaps the move is the best thing for him, if not necessarily for Arsenal.

The two mistakes against Liverpool seem to have finished his Arsenal career but as bad as they were I've always felt other players have been given much more leeway to make errors than Senderos. Perhaps it was his somewhat clumsy style that went against him but there you go. When you lose a big section of the fan base it becomes almost impossible to win them back. Nobody sees the good stuff, only the mistakes you make.

People talk about how he was tormented by Drogba yet fail to acknowledge that Drogba, in that period, went up and down the country raping centre-halves week in, week out. Not just 21 year olds still learning the game, but experienced international players. How many times did John Terry fuck up and score own goals when he was that age? Plenty. He got left on his arse by Freddie Ljungberg in the cup final and Freddie, for all his quality back then, wasn't really known for his brute strength.

As Gunnerblog points out it was the arrival of Gallas that really made life difficult for Senderos. That summer Sol Campbell had just left, Senderos and Toure were given the 6 and 5 shirts respectively, and I suspect the plan was for them to start the season and rekindle the partnership that had brought us to the Champions League final in Paris. To this day I maintain that had Senderos and Flamini not picked up those injuries and started that game we'd have won. Instead Arsene had to choose two horrible cunts and we lost.

In the Wenger biography by Xavier Rivoire he reveals that Wenger consulted Tony Adams about making Senderos captain of the club before he gave it to Thierry Henry. That's the kind of regard the young man was held in. And I think had he and Toure started that season as first choice then they we'd be seeing a different Senderos today. I don't think it's any coincidence at all that the best form we've seen from Kolo and indeed from Gallas has come when they've been playing alongside Senderos. He is the kind of centre-half that allows them to do what they're best at. He will try and win the ball early, he attacks the high ball, and allows them to mop up behind. Tomorrow night watch Gallas and see what he does when kick outs come into our half. See the difference. 

Now we have four identikit centre-halves, maybe only Djourou (who I'd like to see more of) provides that bit of aggressive defending, of proper central defending, while the others utterly fail to compliment each other. That Senderos has gone to AC Milan speaks volumes for me. They're a club that knows a thing or two about defending. He hasn't gone to Wigan or Birmingham or Stoke City. He's gone to AC Milan and perhaps there he can get the kind of coaching that will make him the centre-half we all wanted him to be when he arrived at the club.

For me the bottom line is this - Phil's departure does not make the squad any better. I don't see that Silvestre is really an improvement as he doesn't address the problems we have in the middle of the defence. He's another Kolo, another Gallas. I fully accept that Senderos made some mistakes but I think the amount of stick he got for them was over the top. He had the potential to get better, Silvestre only has the potential to get older. If you really want to be negative about it you could say that in Flamini, Hleb and Senderos, Cesc has just lost his three best mates at the club. I know professionals are supposed to be above all that but it must have some effect on the young man.

Anyway, I hope the move to Italy goes well for him, I sincerely hope he gets his career back on track and I can't help feeling that we're making life, already tough, even more difficult for ourselves. Someone yesterday described to me what's happened to our squad in the last couple of years as 'asset stripping'. It's hard to argue with that. This summer we've lost Gilberto, Flamini, Hleb, Senderos, Hoyte, Lehmann and brought in Nasri, Silvestre, Ramsey and some injured bloke who has never played a game of professional football in his life. It's amazing, really.

Last night I had a dream that I was talking to Arsene Wenger pre-match (just after he'd sacked the Juventus coach driver for opening the doors of the team bus too quickly. Beats me, too) and we spoke about the squad and I told him how fans were feeling. He asked me who I would sign if I was him and I gave him some names and the 5pm kick-off was delayed because we were talking for so long. In the end an apocalyptic battle between robots and turtles broke out and I never found out whether he was going to do anything or not.

I think this whole thing might be preying on my mind a little.  

The fallout from the Fulham game has not been pretty. Condemnation of the performance and the wafer thin squad has been widespread, and rightly so.

I've already said plenty about what we need to do about it so it is somewhat depressing to hear the manager say we're not close to signing anyone. It could be that the manager is playing his cards close to his chest, it could also be that we're just not close to signing anyone. A lot has been said about Xabi Alonso and while I would certainly love to have him I was chatting to the Mugsmasher about him last night and he doesn't think he's what we need.

Now, let me clarify that. He would most certainly improve our midfield, no question, but if we're looking for someone to do what Flamini did last season then he's not the guy. Alonso + one more would be ideal, where that one more is a Flamini style grafter. Who that might be is anybody's guess but it's one for the manager to sort out. The transfer window closes in 6 days time, there's a lot of work to do between now and then if we want to win things this season.

In my opinion he has to look at what's best for the team, not what's best for the players, if you get what I mean. Bringing in two new players in midfield would make life tough for Denilson but so what? It would mean Diaby has to stay fit and take his chances when he gets them. Competition is good and healthy, lack of it brings about results and performances like Fulham. But while it might be negative for some it would mean that players like Aaron Ramsey and Jack Wilsgere learn their trade from established, experienced players instead of guys who are barely out of kindergarten in footballing terms. You have to find the right balance between youth and experience and the experience side of things is all wrong right now.

Arsene Wenger spoke about the defending which lead to the goal against Fulham and said:

I feel the kind of mistake we made on the corner is not excusable. You can be beaten to the ball in the air by somebody who jumps higher than you, but you cannot concede a goal in the middle of the goal, on the six-yard line. That’s where I feel we were guilty.

He's right and he needs to look no further than his excuse for a captain to see who's to blame there. I've said all I need to say about Gallas. Rubbish captain and the manager needs to make the change now, if not sooner. Give it to Cesc, let's realise that Gallas was a badly failed experiment and move on.

Emmanuel Adebayor says Arsenal were given a warning by the Fulham result. He says:

We can't think we are untouchable. We saw that as soon as we don't play together, as soon as we don't put our spirit together, we can lose. If we want to challenge [for the Premier League], we cannot lose again. We have to put more heart in, keep focused and play our football.

I can't argue with those sentiments at all but it's amazing that after just two games of the domestic season we're having to rally the troops and call for more spirit. It's something that appeared to be lacking against Fulham and to my mind we don't have the players to address it. Last season we had Flamini constantly talking, encouraging, geeing up his mates, Cesc lead by example, Gallas was trying to prove he had what it takes, Adebayor stood up and scored goals when they were needed.

Now Cesc is injured, Flamini is gone, Gallas has proved more than once he couldn't lead a team of schoolboys and Adebayor is the guy who spent all summer trying to leave the club, despite what the manager says. It's little wonder we lack direction and played so spinelessly.

Still, there's time to put it right. Perhaps the defeat can consolidate the squad, new signings can bolster the midfield and boost confidence, a change of captain might provide more impetus and loyalty from the players who would prefer to play 'for' Cesc than Gallas, and a win against Twente would be the first step in the right direction.

I'm trying very hard not to be overly negative about us at the moment but it's not easy. There are obviously big issues that have to be sorted out. It's time for Arsene to be ruthless. We've seen him do it before but this time he may just have to swallow a little pride to make things right again. Get the seasoning and the ketchup out, boss, it'll make that pride go down easier than Paris Hilton under a nightvision camera.

One of the things that got overlooked in the wake of the Fulham game was the tackle by John Pantsil on Emmanuel Eboue. It really was terrible, over the ball and extremely dangerous. I hope the FA take a good look at it and take a good look at the referee who managed to give a free kick against Eboue for a tackle which might have broken his leg. There have been a couple of bad tackles like that already this season (Deco on Diarra in Chelsea's game against Portsmouth last week) yet on neither occasion has the perpetrator been punished. After what happened to Eduardo perhaps we're a bit more conscious of it but if someone ends up with a bad injury because refs haven't clamped down on these kind of challenges then I wouldn't be the least bit surprised.

Right, that's about it. More on the Twente game to come during the week.  

Reaction to yesterday's 1-0 defeat by Fulham has been universally critical of the team and the manager and it's very difficult to try and find anything positive to say at all.

It was as poor a performance as I can remember, not even the 2-1 defeat at Craven Cottage a couple of seasons ago was that bad. Brittle at the back, feeble in midfield and toothless up front. It now seems clear that the manager's faith in some of his players is misplaced and the best we can hope for from yesterday is that he addresses that and gets his chequebook out.

The goal came after 22 minutes, Bullard slung in a low corner which should have been bread and butter for the defence, but William Gallas let his man go and Hangeland scored what turned out to be the winner. It was pathetic defending and other players made a mistake that basic then he'd have been crucified for it - I don't see why Gallas should be exempt. There were TV pictures before the game of Gallas trying to rally his troops and the troops looked disinterested and bored at the empty rhetoric he was spouting.

I said at the the time that it was a mistake to make him captain, it's an even bigger one to let him continue in a job he is so obviously rubbish at. To my mind he's a very average centre-half as well - he's certainly nowhere near as good as he thinks he is.

In midfield we got well and truly found out. The manager has gambled this summer and the gamble has failed. I know we missed Cesc yesterday but the team missed a Flamini like player as much as anything. There was no drive, no energy, no commitment in the tackle. Denilson had the game of nightmares, his passes finding the opposition more than an Arsenal shirt. A foul throw late in the game summed him up and while the young man has done well in pre-season he's out of his depth and this was only against Fulham. To his credit Eboue at least tried to make some things happen but again he's not a central midfield player. Walcott was quiet again but got little of the ball while Nasri showed some good stuff but that too was mixed up with some bad.

Up front Adebayor hit the post with a header not long after they scored, van Persie put two decent chances wide and a series of free kicks nowhere near the goal. But Schwarzer didn't have a save to make for the whole game really and we got exactly what we deserved from the game - which was nothing.

Afterwards the manager admitted the display was not good enough and while that is certainly true the bigger issue is that the squad is not good enough. You cannot go away from home in the Premier League, no matter who you're playing, with a midfield as weak as the one we put out yesterday and expect to win the game. Compare and contrast, please:

Pires - Vieira - Edu/Gilberto - Ljungberg/Parlour

Nasri - Denilson - Eboue/Song - Walcott/Eboue

I know I've left Cesc out of the equation there but the obvious gulf in quality is there for all to see. Imagine if Cesc got injured for any long period of time. Sorry for making you poo your pants but it's a pant-pooing scenario that. We simply do not have enough quality in central-midfield and unless we do something about it and quickly then this season is going to be a real struggle.

The manager talks about Diaby who will be a great central midfielder. The fact is Diaby is always injured and if he's so good in the middle how come he's hardly played a game there for us in two seasons? Denilson is a tidy young player but he's so far from being ready to be the senior partner in central midfield it's not funny. After that you have 17 year old Ramsey, 16 year old Wilshere and that's it.

If there's some kind of waiting game going on to try and drive down a player's price then we need to get our priorities in order. You hear Wenger talking about how signing Barry at 27 means he has no resale value? I'm not especially keen on Barry but who cares about resale value? I care about getting three points at Fulham, not a scenario that might be an issue at the end of the player's 'long term contract'.

Yesterday was hugely disappointing and the main reason for that is that it's a situation that could have been avoided. Diarra went in January and was not replaced, Flamini left in May and was not replaced, Gilberto left in July and was not replaced. We have known for months that we need a central midfield signing yet the manager has sat on his hands and done nothing about it bar buying a kid from Cardiff who he obviously feels isn't good enough to play over a right back in that position. It's almost dereliction of duty and at this point Arsene can derelict my balls. It's massively frustrating to find ourselves in this position when the club is essentially in profit in it's transfer dealings for the second summer in a row. The money is there, there is no reason not to spend it other than the manager's apparent hauteur.

Hopefully this will force him to rethink and to get his priorities in order. Arsenal Football Club is not a creche and his job is not to develop young players. His job is to win trophies and at the moment he's making that job very difficult for himself.

The only positive I can take is that Manchester United lost an early game last season, against City, I think and it didn't mean the end of their title chances, obviously. With some money spent there's no reason why we can't pick ourselves and improve. In fact, it would be very difficult not to improve on yesterday, but the money has to be spent. If not then days like yesterday will become more and more common.

A quick round-up what else is out there this morning. Amy Lawrence has a fantastic interview with Cesc in today's Observer. Read it and you realise what a special young man this is and unless we provide him with the kind of team that can win things we're going to find it hard to hang on to him. He loves the Arsenal, he loves the fans, but he's ambitious. Get that player in alongside him Arsene. If he wants Xabi Alonso, get him Xabi Alonso who wants to leave Liverpool.

Beyond that there's not much else in the tabloids and really I can't be arsed looking around too much this morning. The manager says we need to respond to yesterday with a top class performance against Twente in midweek. That would do but not as much as a top class signing.

Have a good Sunday.

Hmm, where to start? *boilk* might be a good place.

Now, let's put that behind us and move on. We have a game against Fulham today and preparation has been far from ideal. With all the internationals this week the manager just had one outfield player to work with, Denilson, and that may see a revolutionary 0-1-0 formation today at Craven Cottage. I suspect we'll line up:

Nobody - Nobody - Nobody - Nobody - Nobody - Nobody - Denilson - Nobody - Nobody - Nobody

Obviously a lot will depend on the service Nobody gives Denilson but unless Nobodybayor converts the chances we could struggle today.

In seriousness though we might see the same team as last weekend although if Eboue went right, Song came into the middle and van Persie started up front I wouldn't be surprised. Fulham had a bad start to the season, losing to newly promoted Hull City, so they'll be desperate to get a result today. This won't be an easy game by any stretch but one that we do have the quality to win. Kick off is 5.30 and it's on Setanta.

The Independent has a very readable article about Arsene Wenger. I have to say despite feeling a little irked with him at times due to his apparent stubbornness in the transfer market he is somebody I greatly admire for his belief in himself and what he does and has done for Arsenal. In the article he says:

For me Arsenal is a club which tries to respect tradition, style, honesty, fair play. If you come in and behave like a gangster you will not last long. The supporters will be the first ones not happy with that. A club needs values. If a club has no values you go nowhere.

I love that and it's a philosophy he's had for his whole career. I'm currently reading the biography of the man by Xavier Rivoire and it's very interesting. The behind the scenes stuff about how he works, prepares, deals with players and his squad is quite fascinating. Above all you get the impression that we have a wonderfully intelligent and decent man as our manager but as well as that somebody with a deep desire to win and bring success to the club. While some people might question how he's going about doing it there should be no doubt over what he's trying to achieve.

The manager has defended Emmanuel Adebayor saying he believes the striker has been treated unfairly. Classic Wenger stuff that. Publicly he will be unfailingly loyal to the player but he knows well enough why the fans might be unhappy with him. But the fans have made their point, there's no need for it to be made again, and now it comes down to Adebayor to put the work in to repay the faith of the manager and get the fans back onside again.

Martin O'Neill says Villa have had no contact from Arsenal about Gareth Barry and has called Arsene's comments about him bizarre. I suppose they were a bit odd really but I don't really think we're interested in Barry at all and it wouldn't surprise me in the least if, on or close to the deadline, we saw Arsenal buy Alonso and Barry go to Liverpool.

Kevin Keegan wants Philippe Senderos but AC Milan are also reported to be interested. The arrival of Fishface has probably made life very difficult for Senderos now and he might well decide it's time to continue his career elsewhere.

Right, that's that. Some breakfast required and here's to three more points later on. 

Oh Arsene, you sly old dog. You cunning old fox. You wily old goat. You crafty old mink. You artful dodger. You devious old armadillo.

Here we sit bemoaning the arrival of Silvestre, praying that you're not going to do something like use him in central defence and convert Kolo to defensive midfielder, and you let us stew for a couple of days. You big tease. Then you say:

I can surprise you sometimes, as I got one in whom you did not expect, and there still might be one more player coming in.

With a crafty smile on your face, no doubt. Perhaps you even gave a little wink. When speculation around Gareth Barry was brought up, you said:

You know the position, but I cannot tell you much more. There is interest always (in players). I do not want to give you any names.

You big tart. I know what you're doing. You're teasing us again, aren't you? People will mention Barry which will allow to go off and buy somebody nobody expects you to buy. Oh my, with these Ferrero Rocher signings you are truly spoiling us. 

In seriousness though it's good to hear that our transfer business is not over and done with. The fact that the boss said being cup-tied in Europe wouldn't rule out a move for a player means you could still throw Alonso's name into the mix despite Liverpool apparently rejecting a £10m bid from us. If that's true it seems Alonso's absence from the Champions League is not a huge issue for the boss - and I get the feeling he'd prefer him to Barry. We'll wait and see what happens.

It's Fulham tomorrow and squad news is that Silvestre is doubtful (heh, welcome to the treatment room, fishface), but Alex Song is back. And with the greatest respect to the young man it's a sign of how weak we are in midfield that you're glad he's back and might even start. Nasri should be fit, which is good. The usual absentees are absent but Cesc could be back as early as next week for the second leg against Twente. More tomorow from the boss's pre-game press conference. 

Armand Traore has gone to spend the season on loan at Portsmouth. I suppose the arrival of Silvestre has allowed that to happen and I really think he does need to go somewhere, play semi-regularly at least, and learn about defending. With Tony Adams down there if he doesn't come back a better defender I'd be surprised.

Sad news yesterday regarding the ill health of Liam Brady, my all-time greatest Arsenal hero of all-time, ever. Best wishes to him for a full and speedy recovery. 

Now, Arsecast. On this week's show we get your thoughts on the arrival of Silvestre from United, the Man in the Bar is in there and we have an exclusive contribution from Silvestre himself. Seriously.

To subscribe to the Arsecast in iTunes simply click here, the direct feed URL is here, to download this week's arsecast directly - click here (13mb MP3). You can find the arsecast archives here. And you can listen directly below without leaving this very page.

As well as that there's a dedicated Arsecast hotline available all season long should you desire to make a comment, get something off your chest, share a song a chant or hilarious anecdote. Feel free to call it any time during the week, it'll go to voicemail and you can leave your message. The number from inside the UK is 020 3286 6360 or from outside the UK it's +44 20 3286 6360.

Right then, one more signing. One more signing. Come on Arsene, do it. Do it. Now. Do it, now. Come on. Come on.

More tomorrow. 

Morning,

so Mikael Silvestre is a an Arsenal player. How very odd. The club confirmed the signing of the former United man yesterday for a fee believed to be around £750,000 and he signed a 2 year deal. Arsene Wenger said:

We have a strong squad but a young squad and Mikael’s versatility, experience and calibre will provide the extra depth we need to reinforce our challenge for honours this season.

I have to admit being somewhat underwhelmed by this signing. Leaving aside the personal enmity I have felt for the player during his United days I'm asking why Alex Ferguson would sell him to us. Reverse the situation - would we sell United a player who we thought would improve them? It would be extremely foolish of us to do so, wouldn't it? And whatever you might think of Demento he's no fool. Does he believe Silvestre is past it or is he just not that worried about us?

The player's injury record over the last couple of seasons has been poor as well and as a club that seems to suffer rather too much from injuries I'd have thought the last thing we needed was to give more work to Colin Lewin.

Then I look at the fact that the only other clubs interested in him were Sunderland and Manchester City and I just can't help feeling we're scratching around in the bargain bins again. I don't think too many people would argue that our defence could do with some improvement but if the boss is really serious about it wouldn't he be better off bringing in somebody better than a United cast-off? Where is our Vidic or Agger or Laursen?

It really is a very strange deal altogether and I'm struggling to see the logic of it - especially when you read about us letting Djourou, who has impressed in pre-season, go out on loan because we have Silvestre now.

Maybe though Silvestre has a point to prove, maybe it will prove a Wenger masterstroke, maybe he'll do very well for us, but at the moment I can't really think about anything other than the fact that I guy I hated at Manchester United is now wearing the number 18 shirt at Arsenal. It's weird but then as 'holic pointed out some weeks back players have come to Arsenal from Sp*rs and won the crowd over. Let's see what Silvestre can do.

On the other hand I don't believe that that's our transfer business done for the summer. Arsene Wenger was in Switzerland to watch Switzerland play Cyprus, perhaps looking at Gokhan Inler. He might also have taken note of the fact that Xabi Alonso scored twice for Spain last night. I think the midfielder is still coming so between that signing and the Silvestre one the squad would be in better shape.

Reaction to the Silvestre signing from Frank McLintock (who reckons he's just what we need) and United's Wes Brown.

What do you think about the Silvestre signing? If you feel like leaving a voicemail for the Arsecast the lines are open all day. The number from inside the UK is 020 3286 6360 or from outside the UK it's +44 20 3286 6360. I'll use some of them (not all) in tomorrow's Arsecast - please try and keep them under 60 seconds, thanks.

Update: Got enough for the moment. Thanks for all the calls.

You'll remember last week we did a competition to win copies of the book Arsènal - by Alex Flynn and Online Gooner ed Kevin Witcher. Just to remind you that Arseblog readers can get over £2 off the £12.99 publishers’ online price, making the book £10.91 plus postage and packing. Of the money you save, over £1 per copy will be donated to the Cancer Research UK charity in memory of David Rocastle - and so far we've raised over £100.

To buy the book online, simply click here and select ‘buy now’. In the window that opens enter the word rocky in the promotion code box and your £2 will be discounted when you press the ‘go’ box next to it.

Right, well that's really about it. The Silvestre signing has certainly got people talking. Finally for today birthday greetings to the nefarious Mugsmasher, smasher of all mugs. He's grown up so fast ... *sniff sniff*

More tomorrow.

I've been having some trouble sleeping the last few nights. I lie there almost wide awake then drift off into that sleep that doesn't seem like sleep at all.

I have these strange and weird dreams that make no kind of sense to me at all. Vivid motion picture dreams but at the same time I'm convinced that I'm not asleep. It's all terribly confusing. I mean, last night I dreamt that we were about to sign Mikael Silvestre from Manchester United.

The fish-faced, Freddie Ljungberg head-butting cunt from Manchester United. I must be eating too much cheese before bed time. Still, it's good to have a cup of coffee in front of me, open up my browser and check the morning news to get a good, healthy dose of reality.

Oh.

I'm really not sure how to feel about this. On one hand Silvestre is an experienced defender, he's won titles, played many times for France and would provide better cover at left back than Armand Traore who could then go out on loan and get experience. On the other hand he's a poxy fucking cunt who can't seem to close his mouth. Why would we want to sign a player who can't close his mouth? Many of his injury problems at United have come from swallowing insects as he runs along with his big open gob. I mean, look at him. He was once out for three months when a bee went right down his throat like Luke Skywalker's bomb in the first Star Wars and stung him on the Adam's Apple.

While the logical part of me, small as it is, can see some sense in this signing (if it happens) my heart says 'Noooooooooooooooo', and I support Arsenal with my heart, small as it is, and not my brain. It's very difficult to hate a guy for years because he plays for a rival then all of a sudden he's wearing your shirt and you're supposed to like him. Because you're supposed to like every Arsenal player, that's just the way it is. First Gallas, who I always hated when he was at Chelsea, now Silvestre who I really hated at United. Arsene is making my heart hurt.

Anyway, we can all look forward to the 'Mikael is an experienced, versatile player who can play at left-back, centre-half, left-wing, central midfield, up front, did I mention central-midfield?, all across the back four and, most importantly, in central midfield' statement from the boss when he signs. I don't know whether to cry or weep.

In seriousness though, I'm weeping. I did suggest last week that we might sign two players and this would be a fairly typical Wenger move for the second one. The big one is still to come. The big one is still to come. The big one is still to come. The big one is still to come. Join in. If we all say it enough times the cosmic power of the universe will make it happen. The big one is still to come.

Tomas Rosicky has cleared up his comments saying we win and lose as a team and he was just trying to explain to a Czech newspaper that we'll have learned from the mistakes we made and be stronger this time around. I suppose that's fair enough. He should still shut up and get fit though, Tommy Brittlebones.

The manager gets behind Theo Walcott, who had a quiet game on Saturday, and has urged patience over the young man. I really want Theo to do it this season. I have a feeling playing on the right doesn't suit him as much as we'd hoped it would but hopefully he'll grow into the role a bit more and kick on again like he did last season.

Samir Nasri, who was called up late to the French squad to replace Hatem Ben Affleck, has now pulled out of it with a thigh strain. It remains to be seen if it's a real thigh strain or a Giggs not playing for Wales in a friendly thigh strain. Hopefully he'll be available for the weekend.

And there you go. Your daily dose of Arse over and done with. I can't believe I'm actually dreaming that I'm writing today's blog. Talk about it being a part of your life you can escape. This is ridiculous. I mean, Silvestre. I'm going to wake up any minute now and have a good laugh, like when you dream you kill someone and you can't believe it and the police are after you and then you wake up and you go 'Phew, it was all a dream'.

Any minute now. Any minute now.

It's a new dawn, it's a new day, it's a new deal for Adebayor.

Arsenal confirmed that the striker has signed a new long term contract - and obviously someone running the website has a sense of humour because the picture they used couldn't possibly have been any better. So well done to Adebayor, he got himself a pay rise. Now the pressure is really on to show that he deserves it, time to get your shooting boots on, Ade.

Tomas Rosicky must be bored. Since he limped off at Newcastle he's had little to do but eat pies if the pictures of him at the game on Saturday are anything to go by. He's dragged up a whole lot of stuff from last season, particularly the Birmingham game. I think we can all point to that game as a turning point in our season but is there really any need for one of the players to bring it up at the start of the new campaign? He really should just shut up and concentrate on trying to be fit for more than a couple of games at a time. Then fans might be interested in what he has to say.

With so many talented youngsters at the club the best way for them to get first team experience is to go out on loan. It looks like Kieran Gibbs could spend the season at Reading, Norwegian central defender Harvard Nordtveit has joined Spanish 2nd division side Salamanca for the season while Young Guns reports Dutch striker Nacer Barazite will join Derby on loan. Good luck to all them.

With fans eagerly awaiting a new signing (or two) Arsene Wenger says that absences make the squad stronger. It's curious logic and in one way it does make sense. Players who would necessarily have got to play otherwise get experience but it's a bit like saying famine makes you fuller because there are less people around to eat what little food there is. We're starving Arsene, buy us some chips!

Samir Nasri, who had been left out, has been called up to the France squad for their friendly this week. He'll join Gallas, Clichy and Sagna on international duty. Update: Now he's been withdrawn from the squad because of a thigh injury. Great.

Beyond that there's not much to tell you. Shaping up to be a fairly dull week so far. 

More tomorrow.

Morning all, it's the start of another week. Dreary too. The weather really is depressing for summertime.

After the chorus of boos that Emmanuel Adebayor was treated to on Saturday Arsene Wenger has urged fans to get behind the Togonator and leave what happened in the summer in the past. He says:

We have to get behind him and support him because he is of tremendous importance for the team and you want your fans to be behind him. What happened in the transfer period did not always reflect his deep desire [to stay] and there was manipulation from agents on both sides.

I'm sure Adebayor heard what happened and I have no doubt it must have been upsetting. But that's life. Sometimes you make choices and do things and you piss people off. It takes a bit of time to heal the wounds. I have no doubt there were agents sticky fingers all over what happened in the summer but ultimately the player has to take responsibility for it. I read a great quote from Gael Clichy who said of transfer rumours and speculation:

In my opinion if you want to be in a newspaper you will be in a newspaper. If you don't want to be then you won't be.

So the bottom line is that Adebayor has made his bed and as uncomfortable as it is he's got to lie in it. That said the manager is also right. Booing players rarely ends up being terribly positive but perhaps there's just only so much fans can take. Sp*rs fans gave Berbatov a good booing for wanting to go to United, Villa fans booed Gareth Barry for wanting to go to Liverpool and Arsenal fans expressed their distaste at Adebayor's apparent desire to leave by booing him. 

In an era when players are paid extortionate amounts of money and the gap between the fan and the player widens ever more maybe it's just time for the player to get a thicker skin. Especially if they rock the boat all summer and expect things to be forgotten about just because they kiss the badge in a meaningless friendly. I do hope Adebayor isn't booed again but at the same time I hope he's got the message and that, maybe, he learns something from it. And when you read stuff like this it really is a shame the way he fucked things up.

On a more positive note Samir Nasri rather enjoyed his day on Saturday. With the manager already making comparisons to Robert Pires (no pressure there then, Sammy) he spoke about his debut, saying:

I could not dream of a better start, to score in my first game after four minutes. Now I will have to continue week in and week out, and hopefully I can keep playing like that, it will be brilliant.

Yes, it will be brilliant. You could see the spark of a lethal new left side partnership between him and Clichy and I think if they get a good run of games together they could become even more dangerous. Pires and Cuntley always worked well down the left before and you get the feeling that's something the manager wants to replicate. Still, it's early days but that was as positive a start from Nasri as you could have hoped for. 

As I said yesterday with a round of meaningless international friendlies this week it's going to be a strange week on the training ground with so many players away. Not the ideal preparation for Fulham on Saturday but that's just the way it goes.

Not much else happening. Just to let anybody who has my email address know that it has changed. The old blogger @ arseblog.com email address got ruined yesterday by some bunch of spamming cunts who flooded my inbox. After downloading about 2,000 'return to sender - you spamming bastard' emails I saw there were another 7,000 waiting to be downloaded so I've nuked that address.

If you do need to get in touch please note the new address (in spam friendly format) is thearseblog AT arseblog D0T com. Please update your address books. 

Right so, enjoy the day, especially if you're a duck. Apart from the duck of death. Clint won't like that.