Barcelona continued their quest to alienate neutrals with their behaviour last night when Carles Puyol and Gerard Pique interrupted Spain’s World Cup celebrations to publicly force a Barcelona shirt over Cesc’s head. Ignoring the fact that this was a Spanish celebration, not a Catalan one, and that our captain would be suitably embarrassed in a moment he was supposed to be celebrating, the pair managed to drive another wedge between the two clubs with their antics.

When I saw it, I have to say I wasn’t surprised. The Barcelona contingent have acted with so little class recently that any stunt they pull washes over me to a certain extent. Their complete disregard for Arsenal is nothing new – they would have been in Cesc’s ear for a month anyway, so culminating that by putting the shirt over his head isn’t likely to change things.

In fact, the only thing that surprised me was that Pepe Reina got involved – I had previously considered him one of football’s good guys and above this sort of thing.

But despite their antagonistic behaviour, we should not take the bait. Barca’s continual tactic has been to break a relationship to drive the price down to a level they can afford, whether it is between the fans and the player, or the player and the club. They either want him to request a transfer, or us to force him out.

The latter should never happen – Cesc has continually respected Arsenal on and off the pitch. He isn’t hankering after a move a la Adebayor, or letting his effort levels slip. And ignore certain quarters of the press who claim he was happy to be wearing the shirt – watch the video. He cannot get it off quickly enough.

It is worth bearing in mind that Barcelona is the club of his youth. This isn’t like one of us having a Chelsea shirt shoved over our head by John Terry – the analogy is actually if you moved to Italy, played for Milan, loved it there but Arsenal were playing these games. It is unlikely you would react with the fury that some wished he had, and it is to his credit that he speedily removed a strip he wore countless times as a boy.

I can see only one way that Cesc will leave this summer, and that is if he hands in a transfer request. Even if he does, it is by no means certain he will leave – Barcelona have backed us into a corner with their pantomime playground bully act that to sell now would leave us looking exceptionally weak.

As I see it, this prank has achieved only two things. One, more neutrals are hoping we hang on to Cesc to stick two fingers up at the most blatant tapping up you’ll ever see and two, our resolve has strengthened to the point where discussions with Barcelona are likely to be short and curt. Two words will probably do the trick.

Let them play their ridiculous games. The more they disrespect us, the more we should take the higher ground.

It has been quite some time since I last wrote about Arsenal, and without wishing to sound ungrateful to the club it has been a welcome break. Summers are always trying – there is inevitably a dull transfer saga that lasts for three or four months – and after the flat end to last season I needed to recharge to get my enthusiasm back.

The first part of that particular plan was to occupy myself watching a thrilling World Cup, but unfortunately it has been a tepid affair, devoid of star talent, stunning goals (barring tonight’s semi) and miraculous against-all-odds comebacks. Defences have won out, and even the eyebrow-raising results (Germany walloping Argentina, for example) can be easily explained by analysing the men at the back of the beaten team. As for England, it was woeful on and off the field.

There is still time, of course – Germany and Spain clash tomorrow night in what promises to be a cracker, but already my mind is switching back into domestic football mode, to the tweaks that would make Arsenal challenge next season, and yes, to the Cesc story that refuses to go away. And whisper it quietly, but the season is fast approaching – the players returned to training today and the first friendly is only eleven days away.

So where are we? In central defence, we’re officially four down – Gallas, Campbell, Silvestre and Senderos – although the latter hasn’t really been an Arsenal player in years. With Koscielny training with the youth teamalready, it is clear that the French defender is the first replacement – the official announcement is likely once Wenger returns to the country. That leaves us with Vermaelen, Djourou, Koscielny and kids. With Djourou penned to be a first team contender last season, and Koscielny costing so much (a reported £9m), you would expect both to feature heavily, so another signing in this area is only likely as a backup option. I have a feeling that’ll be it for the back four.

Up front, we’re stacked with options – Van Persie, Bendtner and Chamakh can all lead the line (although the latter may be relied on initially thanks to continued Dutch involvement in the World Cup and Bendtner’s groin injury), while Arshavin, Eduardo, Vela, Walcott, Rosicky and Nasri are all options in a withdrawn or wide role. We are top heavy in attacking midfielder and strikers, and I wouldn’t be surprised to see one or two leave before September – the prime candidate is clearly, and unfortunately, Eduardo. Time will tell.

Last, but not least, we come to Cesc. The facts we know – Cesc has mooted the possibility of moving to Barcelona (how strongly, we do not know), and Barca have very publicly courted him, in an exceptionally annoying way. And had a bid strongly rejected.

We have all speculated on how Cesc feels about the very public comments made by everyone connected to Barcelona – the president, the players, the tea lady – but realistically, if he was frustrated by it being played out in public (as an Arsenal player, with Arsenal ethics, he might) he wouldn’t say so until after the World Cup. Right now his priority is Spain, and if he is irritated by his teammates talking about his future he will resist saying so until Spain are on the way home.

I will be very interested in Cesc’s first few days back in England. They will be telling.

New Barcelona president, Sandro Roselli, meanwhile, is continuing to talk nonsense:

“The signing of Cesc has become difficult, because the expectation levels have been driven up the seller. We will never pay 50 or 60 million (euros) for Cesc.”

“It’s a topic that has become so public and that’s the worst thing you can do with a transfer, because it makes the selling club raise their expectations and you end up paying over the odds.”

The laughable thing is that he talks as if it is not Barcelona’s fault the transfer has become public, despite their own players mouthing off on a daily basis. It is remarkable arrogance to suggest that just because they want Cesc, they can get him without paying the asking price.

Make no mistake, the standoff will continue – Barcelona are banking on Cesc getting frustrated and handing in a transfer request. If he is to do that, he’d do it soon after coming home. I doubt it’ll happen.

So, that’s it for the first Arsenal post I’ve done in a couple of weeks. In retrospect, not a lot has changed, has it?

After a 2-0 defeat to Mexico tonight, France have become the first big team to come within touching distance of elimination. A Uruguay-Mexico carve-up in the final group games would see both through - a draw sees Uruguay top the group with Mexico second, no matter what France do to South Africa.

It was dramatic, it was exciting and frankly, it was deserved – Mexico were excellent, France poor. Given how much we love to see the big nations brought down a peg, it should have been highly enjoyable.

But it wasn’t, thanks to the commentators and the reactive media (particularly a few sanctimonious ones on Twitter) taking the opportunity to mention that handball in that playoff match every minute of the game, as if France’s loss was more of a victory for Ireland than it was for Mexico.

I don’t pretend to know the entire Irish population. But while those I do were pretty irritated by Henry’s handball at the time, they soon got over it. They certainly put it behind them quicker than the English media, led by a few individuals calling for Henry to be banned for the tournament, France to be thrown out, and other ludicrous and overblown suggestions.

Tonight was a huge win for Mexico. A draw would have left them needing to beat a flying Uruguay, but instead they proved the talent they have in the squad and are on the brink of qualification for the knockout stages. They should have been the stars, yet inexplicably, too many chose to focus on the ‘karma’ of the situation and how delighted Ireland would be, despite a) as far as I can see, the Irish don’t care anymore and b) Henry didn’t even feature in the game.

Don’t get me wrong, I felt for Ireland at the time, and if some still harbour ill feeling towards Henry, and France in general, then maybe they will have enjoyed tonight a little more than most. But the impression I get is that the majority hold no such grudge, so this continued campaign of vitriol is not representative of their feelings in any way.

The more the written press continue this faux holier than thou attitude on behalf of a nation that do not desire or require their ’support’, the more they irritate me. And I’m sure I’m not alone.

For the record, I have a sneaky suspicion France will still go through. Mexico will fancy their chances of beating Uruguay to top the group, therefore avoiding Argentina in the second round, and that would open the door to France, provided they can hammer a demoralised South Africa. Don’t write them off just yet.

As for the Arsenal representatives, no-one covered themselves in glory. The entire French team was unimpressive, while at the other end Vela missed a great chance before going off with a hamstring injury. In earlier matches, Cesc inexplicably remained on the bench while his teammates lost to Switzerland, and Eboue was part of an Ivory Coast defence untroubled by Portugal.

On the plus side, the entertainment level of the tournament has picked up after a slow and cagey start – Argentina demolished South Korea today, and teams are certainly playing with a freedom missing in the early days.

Betting Update

After a bad day yesterday – three out of three bets failed to come in – Argentina’s big win over South Korea and Greece’s victory over Nigeria boosted the profits once more. Part of me wishes I was staking more than a pound on each bet…

I will continue to place a bet on each match in the tournament, adding some random ones here and there, so keep checking the tracker to the right to see how it is going.

Other Arsenal news

The fixture list is out for the 2010/11 season and we start with a belter – a trip to Anfield to face a Liverpool side hoping to feel the effect of a new manager. Our next crunch game is also away - Chelsea on October 2.

November, often a bad month, will again be tricky – Everton (away), Villa (away) and Spurs (home) provide plenty of challenges, especially surrounded by Champions League fixtures. We complete the trio of away games against the Big Four before Christmas.

If we are in contention at Christmas, having played Liverpool, United, Chelsea, Everton, City and Villa away, we are in with a real shout.

But that is for another time – I have to be honest and say that I struggle to get excited about the season when it is so far away. When the players start training again, and we play our first pre-season match, everything will change.

Before then, we have the rest of the World Cup. And I love it, at least when the TV is muted.

Van Persie crossing for a Dane to power home is a vision we’d like to see a lot more of, but we got a sneak preview in the World Cup today as Poulson headed his cross against Agger’s back and in, to give Holland a lead they never looked like giving away. The 2-0 scoreline gave the Arsenal contingent their first victory of the competition, and Van Persie looked sharp throughout before getting a rest for the final fifteen minutes.

At the other end, Bendtner was decent for Denmark, one glorious turn in midfield bamboozling two opponents, but he shanked his only real chance wide. Despite impressing, Adrian Chiles mocked him relentlessly at half time, presumably based on some preconceived bias – his showing certainly didn’t warrant that level of criticism.

Bendtner (and Denmark) were made to feel better by the game that followed between the two other teams in the group, Japan and Cameroon. The Africans looked lethargic throughout, stuck Eto’o on the right and left Alex Song on the bench, a pair of bizarre decisions that Le Guen stuck by all game. Japan were well organised, played for a draw and got a bonus when they pinched a goal. On that display, Denmark have every chance to come back and qualify.

It hasn’t been the best World Cup for Arsenal players yet, but then it hasn’t been a great World Cup for anyone up to now. Too many teams are living by the mantra that an early loss is a disaster, and the resultant negativity is producing a dearth of goals. Only Germany have sparkled, but even they were up against a hapless Australian side and aided by a referee who showed a red card to Cahill for absolutely nothing.

Tomorrow holds more promise – ignoring the early New Zealand-Slovakia game (placed at lunchtime for a reason), there is further Arsenal interest as the Ivory Coast kick off their campaign with a tasty looking game against Portugal in the afternoon. And then we get our first glimpse of Brazil in the evening, before Cesc’s long wait for a runout ends against Switzerland on Wednesday.

The World Cup can only get better, and it will.

Betting Update

After the double success of the opening day, Argentina’s narrow win and England’s draw with the USA provided a pair of winners, making day two another success despite Greece’s failure to live up to my expectations.

Day three was the first hiccup – Algeria, Serbia and Australia all comprehensively failing to achieve the results I tipped, but after correctly predicting Holland’s two goal victory, combined with Japan’s defeat of Cameroon, form was today restored. Had Italy snuck a late winner, it would have been a ridiculously successful day.

All in all, it is going well so far, with eleven £1 bets returning a healthy £24 – £13 profit. I will continue to make a tip for every match shortly before kickoff on Twitter, so you can either keep a track there or watch the panel to the right. If you fancy joining in, feel free to add your own tips to the comments, or on Twitter using the hashtag #groanswcbets – I’ll take on any good ones.

And that is that. See you tomorrow to watch Eboue make Ronaldo cry. Again.

The World Cup is finally underway, and all the evidence of the opening day suggests that we are yet to see the team that will lift the trophy. South Africa and Mexico served up a cracking 1-1 draw to kick off the tournament, before France and Uruguay played out an utterly uninspiring stalemate. There were impressive moments (none more so that the terrific strike from the brilliantly named South African Tshabalala) but nothing that will scare the rest of the competition.

It was also a day featuring many of Arsenal’s representatives. Carlos Vela nearly scored the tournament’s first goal, only to be (correctly) denied by an attentive assistant referee, but he otherwise disappointed in a Mexico side that could find themselves struggling to qualify after failing to punish South Africa’s tentative first half.

The French trio of Sagna, Gallas and Diaby will be disappointed with their opening result, especially as Uruguay went down to ten men late in the game, but on an individual level they should be happier. Gallas was solid at the back, Sagna was more of a wing back threat than Evra (and will be grateful not to have been injured by Lodeiro’s X-rated challenge), but the real star was Abou Diaby, who was a constant threat in an advanced midfield role, and was the sole player who appeared capable of terrorising Uruguay’s somewhat suspect defence.

Diaby has always been a divisive player, but his performance tonight was reminiscent of the run of form he enjoyed early in 2010, before he tailed off again towards the end of the season. Running with the ball, he is a mesmerising sight, and could enjoy a prosperous World Cup if those surrounding him showed more intent. France looked rudderless and impotent up front, and provide so little goal threat that their stay in the competition may be shortlived.

The next time we see an Arsenal player in action will be Monday, when Van Persie, Bendtner and Song kick off their campaigns, but there are plenty of matches to get your teeth into over the weekend, so enjoy. They can’t be any worse than tonight’s snoozefest.

Betting update

A great start for the betting tips, tracked to your right - having tipped 1-1 for the opening match, I predicted a card-fest in the second game, and both bets came off. I’m not getting too smug though – it may all go horribly wrong tomorrow.

As ever, you can follow the bets as they are placed on Twitter, or just keep an eye on the tracker to the right. No doubt some red lines will be appearing soon.

And that is it for today. I will be missing much of Saturday’s football due to a wedding, but they have kindly incorporated the England game into proceedings. Good thing too – we were planning on watching it either way. See you on the other side.