As it happens, we signed the centre half, the midfielder and the striker, and got two bonus signings as well. I call them bonus signings because of their situations – Santos, our new Brazilian left back, only became available because Fenerbahce are embroiled in a match-fixing scandal which has already seen them removed from the Champions League and may yet see them follow the Juventus route down to the second tier of their national league. Meanwhile, Benayoun is on loan, adding experience and a work ethic that will hopefully rub off on a few.

The other three were the key moves. From front to back, Chu Young Park is the South Korean captain, and had a decent goalscoring record in a relegated Monaco team last season. He is perhaps the most risky of the three, and has the issue of mandatory national service in two years (which we will pay an additional fee to Monaco for, if he avoids it, in one of the strangest clauses you’ll find), but with Chamakh so woefully out of form and Bendtner leaving on loan, we needed a forward, even as a stop gap. I suspect Walcott will still get his wish to play through the centre on occasion, particularly once Gervinho settles.

In midfield, Mikel Arteta needs no introduction, and comes with vast Premiership experience (in fact, he has played more games than anyone in our squad) – an ideal signing when you consider how light we were in that area. Since Cesc’s departure, Ramsey has been asked to fill the void, and it has appeared to weigh heavily on him – whereas he would previously keep things simple, he appears to believe that new responsibility comes with a requirement for Hollywood passes. Perhaps now he has support, he can go back to doing what he does best. Speaking of Cesc, if you think that losing him was bad for us, you have to feel for Everton a little – how must their fans be feeling today?

But for me, the best signing was at the back, all six foot six of Per Mertesacker, who at 26 has amassed a whopping 75 caps for a German side who aren’t half bad. Previously captain at Werder Bremen (in fact, four out of the five signings have captained club or country in the past), he comes with experience, leadership and size. Judging from Wilshere’s tweets last night, there is a much-needed new excitement around the squad, a welcome fillip after the weekend’s horror show.

Personally, I’m delighted with the business, if a little puzzled why it came so late. Santos is an exception – he only became available because of Fenerbahce’s plight, so he could not have arrived sooner, but what stopped us signing Park, for example? Monaco were relegated in May, he cost next to nothing, and yet we’ve waited until three weeks into the season to sign him. Strange indeed. Still, better late than never.

I actually find the day after the window closes as fascinating as those frantic last few hours, particularly when it comes to how people judge the activity. And the one conclusion I’ve come to is that people are spinning the transfers to whatever suits their own view, with an utter refusal to change their minds. The same moves have been called inspired in some quarters, panic buys in others. Some say they are exactly what we need, some say that they are lacking in quality.

A couple of these struck me today. Firstly, Eurosport ran a transfer deadline day rater, which actually seemed to include the few days leading up to last night. Every club was given a grade, and here are a couple of their examples:

Arsenal: C

The £10m Arteta deal rescued Arsenal, who otherwise underwhelmed in the quality of their purchases.

Underwhelmed? Okay, so apparently the current South Korean captain, the mainstay of the German defence (who, as I recall, hammered England in the World Cup), and the current Brazilian left back are underwhelming quality? I find this sort of comment staggering, and to be honest it smacks of a very typical British arrogance towards any other league in the world. Sure, Park may or may not click, but I’m willing to bet that most of these writers have never seen Santos play, and to dismiss a 26 year old with 75 caps for Germany is daft in the extreme.

But it continues. The BBC ran a report, having spoken to ‘respected’ site Le Grove (oxymoron?) and AST spokesman Tim Payton. Now, I know Tim divides opinion, but I actually have a lot of time for him – in his position he has to take a club-challenging view, otherwise he would be somewhat irrelevant and unable to garner reaction from within the club, so while some of those views rub people up the wrong way, I can entirely understand why he must have them – it isn’t a case of lacking support for the club, quite the contrary, he looks for things the club can improve on and talks about them, which sometimes makes him appear negative. Having said that, the article had him quoted as saying:

“Mertesacker is just a cheap Jagielka.”

Interestingly enough, that quote has since been removed, and replaced with something much more complimentary, so it appears that Tim may have set them straight, or perhaps the quote should have actually been attributed to someone else (it actually sounds like the sort of outlandish comment you’d read on Le Grove). As for the quote itself, do I really need to analyse it? Why not.

Phil Jagielka. 29 years old, 9 caps for an England side who have played approximately twenty central defenders in the last three years.

Per Mertesacker, 26 years old, 75 caps for a Germany side who have reached at least the semi final stage of the last three international tournaments. European experience.

It is entirely possible that Jagielka was originally higher up the list, but maybe that wasn’t a list of preference, but a list of realism – you would have thought it would be easier (and cheaper) to sign a decent player from massively indebted Everton, than Werder Bremen’s vastly experienced club captain and star defender. As it turned out, the German’s price was lower, which tells you everything you need to know about the English premium. Don’t even get me started on the £17m demanded for Gary Cahill, despite the solitary year remaining on his contract. Congratulations Bolton, you have just lost yourselves a fortune.

Going back to that Eurosport grading article from earlier, this will make you laugh.

Tottenham: A

Tottenham’s success in retaining Modric despite a £40m bid from Chelsea and their removal of Crouch, Jenas, Hutton and David Bentley represented a job well done for their astute manager.

I’m sorry, what? Frankly, I don’t see the sense in turning down a huge offer for a player who doesn’t appear to have the stones to do anything but sulk from this point forward – for everyone bemoaning the Cesc debacle this summer, Modric has behaved a hundred times worse. And this is the same site that claimed Arsenal losing Eboue, Denilson et al was an ‘exodus’. Interesting.

My point is this – Arsenal’s transfer business can be spun in a number of ways, and it seems that people are taking the deals, and exploring them in a way which allows them to further their own angle.

As for my opinion? Prior to this week, I think the summer had been handled horribly – sales dragged on too long, pre-season preparation was badly affected, and purchases were delayed to the point that we’ve started the season not so much on the back foot, but slammed against the wall. However, those final few days provided the results we so desperately craved. Better later than never, certainly.

At last, I’m looking forward to the next game. And that alone says a lot.

It has been some time since I last wrote anything, for a variety of reasons. There hasn’t been an awful lot to talk about, unless you count commenting on the speculation of those who know nothing new in the myriad of transfer ‘sagas’ we’re involved in, but make up nonsense anyway because they have to fill pages. Beyond that, I’m not always that interested in anything other than concrete stories in July – the matches are relaxed kickabouts, the talk is endless, and even the official Arsenal site is packed with banality. But most of all, I just needed a break, from all the whining and complaining about a lack of transfers when there were still eight weeks left of the window. Frankly, I found it all a bit pathetic.

All summer, I’ve been saying ‘wait for the start of the season‘, because I’ve been convinced that the ‘busy summer‘ we were promised would kick into gear at some point, and breathe new life into a squad that was devoid of confidence and belief at the back end of last season, and have shown few signs of change in the warm ups. But with just six days to go until our trip to Newcastle, which holds all too relevant memories from the last encounter, I’m getting worried.

Our summer business hinges entirely on which of our players leave, and it has always been clear that our signings are intrinsically linked to our departures. And therein lies the problem – the futures of Cesc and Nasri remain unresolved, which is nigh on unforgivable this close to the opening game, because it has such an enormous impact on all our preparations. Cesc hasn’t even been involved in any friendlies, which suggests that a deal is close, but even if Barcelona raise their bid to a level we find acceptable, the window of opportunity to rebuild is closing by the day. Any new arrivals will certainly be absent for the rest of August, which leaves us without those who may leave and those who may arrive for games against Newcastle, Liverpool and United, not to mention our vital Champions League qualifier against Udinese. Not ideal, by anyone’s standards.

That said, I am still confident we will see new arrivals by the end of the month, and there is one overriding reason for that belief – if we weren’t going to, then why would we be making space in the squad by loaning out established players? Denilson has already gone in that manner, and Eboue and Vela may soon follow. With the sale of Clichy and possibly Cesc also making spots available, any such thinning would be counterproductive. So, for me, the question isn’t whether we will get players in, but who and when.

Those in the Arsenal hierarchy certainly know the mood of the fanbase. That was never more evident than at Members’ Day, when they ditched the usual routine of bringing the squad out one by one, perhaps fearful of the mixed reaction some would receive, and then heavily neutering the questions allowed in the subsequent Q&A. Wenger even alluded this week to the frustration he knows we all feel, so those who believe the club to be oblivious to the growing divide are mistaken. The question is – can they make the moves that will bring people back on board?

Looking at the squad, the holes are fairly obvious. Up front, Van Persie is increasingly vital, unless Bendtner can be convinced not to leave, but to play second fiddle. Chamakh is a shadow of his former self, a baffling situation that becomes even odder when you watch the games from the early past of last season. It is easy to forget how well he did back then, before losing all semblance of confidence and becoming a total passenger. Without Cesc, we still look devoid of ideas against ‘park the bus’ opposition, although Gervinho is at least a breath of fresh air, and with pace that we’ve been sadly lacking in recent years (Walcott aside). And in defence, we are still short a centre back, while the left back situation is fragile at best.

But then, none of this is new, nor is it is a surprise. And given the mooted transfer targets, the flaws are well known, and attempts are being made to address them. The issue is simple – because in similar situations in recent years we’ve made do, the fear is there that we will fail with our primary targets and choose instead to promote from within. No matter how good our kids are (and some of them are very very good), you can’t replace Cesc with them and expect to improve.

In a way, this summer is demonstrating exactly why a summer transfer window should end before the season begins, otherwise you end up with farcical situations where players play a couple of games for one club before moving on, or spend the whole of August nursing ‘niggles’ on the sidelines. Right now, we risk starting the season on the back foot because none of our summer action has been concluded, which would have the knock on effect of making the atmosphere even worse.

The next three weeks are incredibly important, and busy for everyone involved – a lot of business needs to be sorted (Cesc, Nasri, Eboue, Bendtner, Vela and Almunia all need their futures sorted, and then we need to bring players in), and all the while we’ve got a sequence of very important football matches.

The summer action should always be assessed at the end of August. Right now, it really could go either way.

Let me explain, first by looking at the facts.

Nasri has one year left on his contract, and at 24, is now debating where to spend the prime of his career, a massive decision in any walk of life. He also knows that if he decides not to stay, he stands to earn a fortune when his current deal expires. Typically, when a player is signed on a free transfer, part of his real transfer value is included in his wages, spread over the term of the contract, substantially increasing the weekly salary – clubs can do that because the player retains value, and it is clearly in the best interest of the player, from a purely financial point of view.

In this instance, it appears Nasri has looked at potential earnings in a year’s time, and asked Arsenal to match (or very nearly match) that level to convince him to stay. This has angered many, since it appears to inflate his salary above his merit, but the reasoning is sound, when you look at it from a purely business point of view. It is a bit like owning shares – if your stock is worth £14k now but you know without doubt it’ll be £20m in a year, you are going to turn down offers of £15m, asking the potential buyers for more. Nasri knows how much he could be earning, and he is giving Arsenal the opportunity to match that.

Is he holding the club to ransom? In a way, yes. But he isn’t asking for that level of salary without logic, and probably feels quite justified in his request. I’m not saying for a moment that his performances merit the wage hike, and as a result they will surely be rejected, but that doesn’t make him wrong for asking.

Plenty of people who are criticising him would change jobs in an instant if a far greater salary was offered, and while I understand that the scale of money is very different, there is a still a potentially vast salary gap at stake here. It matters.

And then there is the other factor in the negotiations – ambition. I know many feel that Nasri’s situation is entirely about money, not trophies or club intent, but in truth the two are inextricably linked. Put it this way – if Nasri were to sign on at Arsenal for another five years, on our terms (which, as we’ve established, is considerably less than he could be earning elsewhere), then he needs a really good reason to do so, and that reason is the club giving him the opportunity to win trophies. Yes, Nasri’s form was poor in the second half of the season, but that can happen to anyone – I’m not going to hold that against him any more than I’m going to hold it against Wilshere when he has his inevitable dip – it feels as if we’re using Nasri’s summer actions to view his season (both halves of it) in a more critical light, which strikes me as churlish. Overall, he was good, even though he dipped so badly.

The other reason a player would be happy to stay on lower wages is loyalty, and love for Arsenal. And that is where I think the majority of us are sorely misguided, or at least blinded by our own unwavering support for the club. Nasri is not an Arsenal fan. He grew up at Marseille, his hometown club, and nothing will match up to that. Does he have affection for Arsenal? Probably – three years is likely to do that, but it isn’t anything he cannot replicate somewhere else.

I feel sometimes that we, as fans, miss this point entirely. As Arsenal fans, we cannot understand why anyone would leave the club, but these players are not fans, and even as representatives of the club they do not necessarily have it in their hearts. Imagine if you played for Bayer Leverkusen, and Inter came in with a big money offer for you. Top sides both, and as fans of neither you’d probably take quite a rational approach to the decision. Allow Nasri, and others, the same courtesy.

Perhaps that is the real issue here, the crux behind the feeling that too many players coast along – maybe not enough of them are true Arsenal fans. If you look at the current squad, who can you say really loves the club and is proud to pull on the shirt? Cesc, certainly (yes, he loves Barcelona too, but his clearly loves Arsenal), and Van Persie – the guy talks like an Arsenal fan. Wilshere, through growing up at the club, can be added to that list, but beyond that who is there? Sagna? Maybe. Interesting that the list of players you’d mark down as being proud to play for Arsenal are the same ones that give their all. Coincidence? I think not.

So if Nasri wants to move on, fair play to him. To me, he hasn’t been disingenuous, like Adebayor before him (if Nasri came out next week and claimed that he never considered leaving, then I’d change my mind, but as far as I can see, he has been open throughout), and perhaps we need to replace him with a player who will wear the club crest with pride. Arsenal DNA, you might call it.

I can understand people’s anger towards Nasri, because we don’t like to see our club in a negotiation where we hold no cards, especially when the opposing side knows and is exploiting  it. But this is business, and we are making it personal.

I do find it strange that, given some of them manage to make sense on a daily basis, more aren’t genuinely employed by media outlets, given that their written quality and logic is far superior to columns we pay good money to read. I know a lot of national newspapers struggle in these summer months, especially when there is no international tournament to fill pages, but some of the nonsense they spew is of such a low standard that it cannot be hard to find someone to raise the level. Robbie Savage gets to crayon his idiotic dribble, yet some truly insightful, witty and pertinent authors remain on the independent scene.

I’m pretty certain that doesn’t just to apply to Arsenal bloggers – I don’t read sites of other clubs, but we can’t be the only one with a slew of excellent wordsmiths. Balance should not be hard to come by. Anyway, food for thought.

Back in Arsenal world, and every day feels like Groundhog Day at the moment – there cannot surely be any remaining angles, true or false, to the Cesc and Nasri sagas. I’m not even sure you can call the Cesc situation a saga, because despite Barcelona dragging it out and making it complex, it should really be the simplest move in the world. He would be happy to go, we would sell him for the right price, and there are no other clubs getting a look in, so no real decisions have to be made.

It is utterly simple – make the right offer, and he’ll go. Barcelona can go about settling him back in, we can go about replacing him and adjusting the style of our team in his absence. In short, everyone can move on.

But, as we all know, they are refusing to come up with the right price, even offering less than was refused last summer, claiming his value has dropped over the past 12 months, a year in which he set up the World Cup Final winning goal. He is only 24, and suffered last season because of  a few injuries and a lack of summer break (which could be connected). This summer, he is getting a full rest, and will be fit and firing for August, which leads me to believe he could be ready to raise his game again for next season. And yet his value is supposed to have dropped? Sorry, I don’t buy it.

Barcelona’s tactics lead me to believe that, once again, he will not leave this summer. The player is not going to hand in a transfer request, and is not the sort of character to play half heartedly next season if he doesn’t get his move – he loves two clubs, after all. So, we have no reason to sell way under his value, and £30m is plainly way under his value. Barcelona must know this, which is why they continue to try to force our hand by destabilising the player. It didn’t work last summer, and Cesc has made it perfectly clear it will not work this summer either.

Which begs the question – what exactly are Barcelona playing at? If they wanted him, they would raise their bid. I know they are massively in debt, but last summer they splashed out on Villa, and this time are doing to same on Sanchez. If they wanted Cesc above all else, they’d use the money for him. It is in their interest to bed him in as soon as possible, so dragging it out only helps them if it drives down the price, which we already know it won’t. So the only logical conclusion I can come to is that they will not raise their bid, they will claim to their fans that they tried everything, and they’ll come back next year. Maybe one day, they will stop being such derisory, arrogant neanderthals. Perhaps not.

I do pity the sports writers having to create a new angle on the story every day, when there are none to be found – it is not a transfer with any complexities, and as such there are no new angles to find until the day Barcelona stump up.

As for Nasri, I still think he will stay. I’m not saying he will sign a new contract, because I don’t think he will, but I think he will stay. I know we don’t want another Flamini, but there really is little we can do about it, because if a player decides to run down their contract, we can’t force them to move – those days are over. We can’t even threaten to sideline him and endanger his Euro 2012 place because the French situation is already complex, and it is doubtful that would have any effect.

Whatever Nasri (or his agent) claims about waiting to see Arsenal’s ambition in the transfer market, this isn’t about the squad, our ability to compete, or incoming players. This is about money, pure and simple, and from Nasri’s point of view, the best way to earn a massive wage is to see his contract out and leave on a free – the signing on fees for Bosman transfers of top players are enormous, and frankly, we will not be able to compete. Essentially, he is taking the chunk of money he would get, and demanding that we give him the equivalent in a payrise over five years. It is a decent bargaining position, and when you take club loyalty out of the question, it makes good business sense for him as an individual. But it is not a situation we will cave too – raising his salary by that amount does more than contribute to our rising ticket prices – it shows a willingness to bend to unreasonable demands, a fact many other agents of our players would no doubt seek to exploit.

In short, we aren’t going to offer him the money he wants, so I imagine he will either move on this summer, or on a free next year. I strongly suspect the latter, despite our inevitable attempts at the former.

Beyond that, nothing else is concrete. We know which players are likely to leave -  it is just a case of getting the right price – while the same names continue to be linked as potential arrivals. I have to say I strongly suspect a few of them are enormous red herrings that we actually have no interest in, certainly not for the prices their clubs are asking (I’m thinking particularly of Cahill here), and would not be surprised if the players we eventually brought in were entirely different from those we hear about every day (with the exception of Gervinho, who really does appear to be on his way).

As for the timing, like most of you I’d prefer to see business conducted earlier in the summer, but I’m not going to panic just yet – it is still June, and that technically means it is still the 2010/11 season (football calendar runs July-June), so we have plenty of time. Besides, it makes perfect sense that we need to definitively know who is leaving before deciding who we need coming in. It is more complex than ‘if Cesc leaves, we need one more midfielder‘, since players are bought to complement each other – imagine if we had a player lined up who would sync well with Cesc – what would you do right now? Bring them in, or wait?

Football is about more than buying the best players for the best prices. And the transfer window is about patience. Wait for it to end before judging.

Take tonight’s European Championship qualifiers. Twenty two games, and almost all were entirely predictable. Only two results raised eyebrows – Portugal’s 4-4 draw with Cyprus and France’s defeat at home to Belarus – but both nations have a myriad of issues that contributed to the failures. The fact is – there are now so many poor footballing nations in Europe (and so many nations full stop) that 80% of the matches are walkovers, ensuring that only a tiny fraction of games are appealing enough to retain our interest. The majority of the time we simply count down the days until the real football resumes. It is a sad indictment of the national game.

Of course, club football can be ugly too, most notably around the closing of the transfer window. Never mind that Wenger has tackled one of last season’s problems by bringing in a target man and a genuine aerial threat, or that we have genuine competition for places at centre back again. No, ignore all that – he didn’t pay over the odds for a 37 year old keeper that has never before attracted the attention of a top club, so he must be ruining our great club. Sack him, sack him now.

At least, that is the opinion of an ever growing number, fuelled into a frenzy by a series of hit-grabbing blogs (and, sadly, some mainstream newspapers fighting for a slice of the pie). Controversy sucks people in, leading many to the conclusion that an outlandish opinion is better than a sensible one. Balance is hard to come by.

My opinion? I’m disappointed that we didn’t sign a keeper, but then I was disappointed that Schwarzer was the extent of our ambition in the first place, as I don’t think he adds anything in terms of quality – all he would have been is a clean slate. The difficulty comes when attempting to name a keeper who wouldhave been an inspiring signing. Three names are bandied around at will – Lloris, Hart and Given. Do I really need to explain why all three are impossible recruits?

I understand the frustration of those who wanted a new number one, but what I cannot fathom is why some are suggesting our team is in ruins because Almunia will continue. Those writing off our chances clearly don’t look at our rivals – that they have weaknesses is an oft missed fact.

It is surely time to look forward. The Fabianski ‘trial’ in pre-season is over, and by comparison Almunia is playing like Gordon Banks. To be fair to Manuel, he has so far escaped the glut of goalkeeping errors that have littered the opening weeks of the season. Long may that continue.

Take a step back, and realise that our summer business has been pretty good overall. And we haven’t exactly started the season badly either.

Over the next few days there will be full previews of the season ahead, the bar to the right which proudly displays my scorching £0.28 profit from the World Cup will be replaced by a Premiership equivalent, and much more besides. Stay tuned.

So what has happened since I’ve been away? Considering that my last post was about how electric we looked going forward, and conversely how wobbly we seemed at the back, not a lot. Our final friendly was a freakish 6-5 victory over Legia Warsaw, truly a match that judged whether your glass was half full or not. The positive – scoring six against a decent European outfit, while missing the creative talent of Van Persie, Cesc, Arshavin and Bendtner is some achievement. The negative – our defending was horrific and the less said about Fabianski’s performance, the better.

Practically the entire Arsenal fanbase is crying out for a keeper and a centre back as a matter of urgency, and anyone who witnessed our pre-season games would have difficulty arguing against that view. It is especially key when you consider the wealth of options we have at the other end of the pitch – a meaner defence could be the final piece of the jigsaw.

But those who think Wenger is blind to it are wrong. He has already spoken about the need for at least one more central defender and his interest in Schwarzer was very real. That isn’t to say arrivals are guaranteed, but the weaknesses that are clear to us are clear to everyone.

Of course, some transfer rumours you can ignore. Man City are not going to strengthen us with Given or Hart, likewise Liverpool with Reina. Elsewhere, the Spahic rumour has been dismissed, which may come as something of a relief to those who feel the 30 year old would merely have been Silvestre’s replacement in more ways than one.

Overall, however, I really think we need to switch our minds away from the transfer nonsense. With international friendlies clogging up the week, little will happen before the season begins, and a trip to Anfield is deserving of more of our attention. Perhaps once the game has passed we can turn our attention back to the transfer window – by then there will be a mere two weeks remaining and the time to act will be fast approaching.

For what it is worth, I predict we’ll sign a central defender towards the end of the month, perhaps on deadline day, but miss out on a keeper. And worryingly, it seems more and more likely that Fabianski will begin the season as first choice. Perhaps Wenger was just giving him plenty of chances to prove himself in pre-season, but it would be an odd move to revert to Almunia considering how little he featured.

Five days to go. I’m excited, but nervous. One thing is for sure – it will not be dull.

Today, of course, we live in a different world. Matches are streamed online, reported on Sky Sports News as if the results were critical, and every player is scrutinised before they have even had a chance to build up basic fitness (or in the cases of Arshavin and Vela, work off their expanded waistlines).

It is easy to slip into the trap of drawing conclusions at this stage. Defensive mistakes are to be expected when teammates have only just met, partnerships have not been formed, and even some language barriers are yet to be negotiated. To an extent, we understand that and forgive a certain lack of impermeability. But it goes further than that.

While many rightly shy away from excess criticism in these early days, we are less restrained when doling out platitudes, especially when indicating a certain player to be ready to step up in the coming season. What we forget is that most of our opposition are lower league or even part-time opposition, and looking impressive against them is a false barometer.

To put it another way, how many times have we seen a player shine in the Carling Cup, but would hesitate before suggesting they should be featuring in the first team? Most people’s description of Vela’s current position comes to mind, and I’d argue that the likes of Hoyte, Randall and Simpson are among others who will never break through the glass ceiling despite excelling at that level. Yet most of our pre-season opposition are not only weaker than those faced by our kids in those competitions, but they have little to play for themselves. Anyone can thrive when the pressure and intensity are dialled down.

Don’t get me wrong, I’m not suggesting that those that have impressed cannot make that step up, only that it would be false to demand their promotions based on these meaningless run-outs. I fear that if we lose a couple of early games, there will be many fans saying ‘Frimpong was excellent in pre-season, he should be playing’, and using it as a stick with which to beat the manager. We’ve seen it before with the constant calls for Wilshere to get playing time – this is the third consecutive pre-season in which he has appeared ready.

So I try not to draw too many conclusions, especially this early in proceedings. The Emirates Cup is a better indicator purely because the opposition are stronger, so I’ll begin to take a keener interest from Saturday (not least because I have a ticket). I’ve always thought our annual preparations are spot on – get the fitness up against the cannon fodder before testing your sharpness against quality.

Transfers

In other news, I have mixed feelings about Campbell not signing a new contract. On the one hand, his attitude in the dressing room would have set an example to others, but at the same time if he had agreed a year extension, Wenger might have been tempted not to sign another defender. Now he absolutely has to. Sol’s decision may yet prove to be a blessing in disguise.

As for Cesc, the latest story is that he is ‘torn’ between Arsenal and Barcelona. However, the quotes are attributed to an interview with DIR Emotions, a Spanish magazine that holds no mention of the conversation on their site. I suspect that his expressing an affection for both clubs has been deliberately twisted, and moreover that such an interview pre-dates this summer. I would be very surprised if Cesc’s next move was anything other than talking through official channels. In short, don’t panic.

That’s it for today. August, and real football, is around the corner.

No more. Their quest to retain the Champions League was brutally exposed by Mourinho’s Inter, Busquets committed one of the worst acts of simulation in the same game to tarnish their puritan status, and even Messi’s stock fell after a disappointing World Cup. Then, of course, they fluttered their eyelashes in Cesc’s direction.

Fast forward to today, and most neutrals want Cesc to stay in England, if only to prove to Barcelona that their ugly and relentless tapping up can be resisted. The way they have systematically gone about destabilising him at Arsenal has been reckless to the point where even the previously admiring media have turned on them.

One thing is for certain – if our captain does return to Spain this summer there will be widespread calls for a tapping up investigation. In theory, it should be an open and shut case – Barcelona have shown zero regard for Arsenal, the player or his contract, and have conducted their business in public despite calls from Arsenal to cease.

Unfortunately, while their approach seems scattergun, it is actually more calculated, and as such a tapping up enquiry may not result in the punishment they clearly deserve. The footballing authorities have only acted in a few instances (notably, those given high coverage in the press), and then only when club officials have been the worst offenders.

While the saga is certainly getting enough media coverage to force a cursory look from the authorities, the issue becomes cloudier when you analyse who is saying what. There is no doubt that Joan Laporta was guilty in the extreme, but he is no longer tied to Barcelona and as such his words are likely to be ignored. Rosell, since being elected president, has been more circumspect – most of his comments have been along the lines of ‘we want him, but have to talk to Arsenal’, which is no different from the ‘I admire him, but he is unavailable’ angle you hear from all managers, week in week out.

Instead, the blatant disrespect has come from the Spanish media (or at least, those under Barca’s control) and particularly the players themselves. But here is the key point – the players are not club officials. Technically, they could be found guilty of tapping up on an individual basis, but Barcelona are not liable for their words. And individual charges are exceptionally unlikely.

All of this makes it very difficult for FIFA to justify charging Barcelona as a club. Of course, common sense should allow them to see the bigger picture, witness how the media and the players have become the club’s mouthpiece and bring them to rights. But common sense doesn’t sit well with FIFA - they removed every referee’s option of applying it long ago and the goal-line technology farce proved how little they have of their own.

The good news is that Barcelona are finally being exposed – after years of forcing the availability of targets and driving their price down with underhand tactics, the wider world has seen them for what they are – a disrespecting playground bully whose off-field antics are the antithesis of their on-field aesthetic.

But negative exposure will change nothing – their tactic works. If it fails this summer, it will be the exception made possible only by Cesc’s refusal to behave in the antagonistic way they desire. With punishment so unlikely to come their way, they have no reason to give in.

Sadly, Eduardo never fully recovered from that fateful day at St Andrews, his leg shattered by an enforcer tackle from ‘not that kind of player’ Martin Taylor. That kind of injury and a year out of the game would test anyone, but while he appeared to recover physically, he was hindered by mental scars that removed the clinical finishing his game relied on. His instincts were still good, his first touch was immaculate, but in front of goal his assurance had gone.

And in one of the most physical leagues in the world, I haven’t seen him compete in a 50/50 challenge in the year and a half he’s been back. Can you blame him?

We will never know the heights Eduardo could have reached. Perhaps he would have been a star, perhaps a useful squad player who could turn games late on. One thing is for certain – the ‘they don’t like it up ‘em’ brigade have claimed a victim today, removing another talent from the English game. How many more will follow?

Much as Eduardo has always been a fan favourite, and although he was noticeably touched by the reception he received on his return, I wouldn’t blame him if he never looked back. His treatment during his three years in England has been appalling – that challenge, the Villa fans who taunted him with ‘you’ve only got one leg’, and of course the diving storm from last season’s Champions League qualifier which saw UEFA attempt to ban him for an offence replicated a hundred times the same week.

I don’t know any right-minded person who doesn’t wish him well. Perhaps a fresh start and regular football will help him re-establish his poise in front of goal, and I hope his recovery is completed over the next year or so.

Financially, it is no bad deal - £6m is a sizable fee for someone whose future is unknown, and is not far off the amount he cost in the first place.

Elsewhere, pre-season has started, and while the internet age allows us to watch these warm-up games in full rather than scouring newspapers for the result, drawing conclusions from them can be dangerous, particularly when focusing on the negative. For example, our defending in today’s 3-0 win against Sturm Graz was exceptionally wobbly at times, but nothing more can be expected when holidays have only just ended and fitness levels are low.

That said, it is a chance for younger players to stake their claim for first team action in the weeks ahead, and Jack Wilshere, Jay Emmanuel-Thomas and Jay Simpson have all caught the eye in the last week. Of the three, Wilshere is closest to featuring, especially with Joe Cole moving to Liverpool for the money the Champions League a fresh start. JET and Simpson still have much to prove.

Of the new signings, Chamakh looks powerful, Koscielny the complete opposite (that boy needs to bulk up, and fast), and of the old guard, Nasri shone tonight while Arshavin oozed class against Barnet but needs to raise his fitness levels. In goal, Almunia is ‘ill’, which is giving chances to everyone else, but it is difficult to take those chances when the opposition doesn’t threaten.

What these friendlies are showing us is the depth of attacking talent at our disposal – some very good players are not going to make it at Arsenal due to the levels of competition. It is the other end of the pitch that causes all the problems, and I suspect another signing will be made in defence before the season begins.

And that is it for tonight, except to wish Eduardo well with Shakhtar Donetsk. Good luck, fella.

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.