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Not sure how many of you caught the interview with Fabregas on Thursday evening, after his commanding display against the Russians in which he set up both the second and third goals. When asked what he thought his chances were of starting in the first eleven, the Arsenal midfield maestro, unsmiling, turned to one side (away from the camera) and said...

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When I read about rumours linking players to Arsenal that repeatedly keep coming up, I find myself checking out the player against a number of criteria. If the player passes this criteria, then I consider the rumour a possibility. If the player fails the criteria, then I'm fairly certain that Wenger will not be signing the player. These attributes are quite straightforward - as Arsenal fans, we...

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Over the last few days, Arshavin has been linked to various clubs including Arsenal. The link to Arsenal is mainly due to Le Boss expressing admiration for the strikers prowess, and the way in which, up until Russia crashed out to Spain, he stamped his authority on games he played in. What the sources of these rumours fail to point out, is that Wenger admires lots of players from a distance, with little or no intention of signing them. One thing that stands the striker in ...

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I have to say that of all the transfer rumours flying around, this one's the one that I least expected, but then I guess I should have known that this is Arsenal we're talking about, and this is the transfer window after all. News that Adebayor could be a target for other clubs (or more specifically Inter Milan) first surfaced in the Daily Telegraph a couple of weeks ago, and now various news media are reporting that Barcelona have abandoned...

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It feels a little weird to be reading about a premiership club losing their star player, with that club not being Arsenal. That makes a welcome change. Initial stories on the wires about Manchester Utd's Ronaldo wanting away to Real Madrid didn't pique my interest - until I read Alex Ferguson's threat that the Glaziers would "...banish Ronaldo to the stands than sell the midfielder to Real Madrid...". When a manager comes out and makes statements of that nature, you know something serious is up - and Fergie is speaking more...

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The last few weeks has seen most Gooners hogging the interweb, looking for any reports of new signings and the like. It struck me reading the stories about Sagna's contract extension, that in reality, existing players extending their contract are just as important. The last league campaign saw Arsenal very...

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Here's a quote worthy of a wry smile. City physio Neal Reynolds has left Carrow Road for Arsenal. On his leaving, he is reported to have said: "I am very sad about leaving, I love Norfolk and I love the club. I've been here seven years and everybody has made me feel very much at home. I need to challenge myself on the physiotherapy side of things, and as there will be more...

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So Sepp Blatter's been talking again about how plans to introduce player quota's could be in place by 2010/2011. According to the FIFA president, he has agreement from all the European confederations (whatever that means), and proposes not to fight the EU, but to work together with the EU to achieve common agreement. As far as I can work out, this insistence on restrictions and quota players is simply down to Blatter not...

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A bit of a strange title that one, but bear with me and it will all (hopefully) soon make a little more sense. "Events, dear boy, events", was how Harold McMillan responded when, as Prime Minister, he was asked what kept him awake at night. Out of the so-called top-four premier league clubs, it is a well known fact that Arsenal spend the least on transfers, although we somewhat match (but only just) the other clubs when it comes to player wages. That we haven't won any silverware for three years, is seen by some, both fans and news media alike, as just...

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An attacking midfielder who begun learning his trade as a kid of nine in the youth set up at Marseille, in May 2007 Nasri was named French Ligue 1 Young Player of the Year ahead of Jimmy Briand and Karim Benzema. As further proof of his quality, Samir Nasri has over time, progressed through the Under-16s, 17s, 18s, 19s and 21s of the French National squad. With a penchant for being direct (a good contrast with existing Arsenal mid-fielders, sad to say), the other plus points in his favour include his age (he is 21), his dynamism on the ball, the fact that he isn't afraid to...

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