I feel I must make a correction to on Tremayne Bidgood's article on Arsene's policy on over 30s, an error I see oft repeated ad nauseam.

Mikael Silvestre is NOT an exception to Arsene's over 30s rule regarding contracts. Arsene gives players contracts up until their 32nd birthdays at which point he offers them rolling one year deals. Silvestre was signed at the age of 30 and given a two year deal, taking him to 32. Gallas was signed at 28 on a four year deal, taking him to 32. Pires' contract also expired at the age of 32, ergo, he was offered a one year deal. It is more accurate to say that Arsene's one year deal policy begins at 32, not 30.

This is largely because a player physically peaks between 28-32, at 32 he hits decline. The nuts and bolts of that policy are open to debate, but I felt I had to correct this infuriating error that has been passed off as fact. Personally, I would give Gallas two years. I think he has that duration left in him at this level and even if he hasn't, we can sell him for peanuts next summer if at all goes awry.

Another point Tremayne mentions that I know a lot of Arsenal fans get miffed about is the awarding of contract extensions. This is because Arsenal, more than any other club in Europe, appreciates the shift in contract law. With the Webster Ruling, there is something of a breakthrough, edging the power in contract negotiations ever more towards the player. Basically, players now have a protected three year period on their terms before they have the option to buy out the rest of their contract and leave for a pittance. (The protected period is two years for players over 28). This effectively means players' terms have to be renegotiated every two years now or else we run the risk of losing our players for a curly wurly and a packet of love hearts.

So Arsenal are actually being incredibly smart here. On the surface, they're taking steps to keep a young side together and reap the benefits of continuity that brings. But on the flipside, if one of our recently signed up players throws a patty and decides they want to leave, we are protected in terms of commanding a decent transfer fee. Other clubs will eventually catch up, but probably not until the hearts of their teams are ripped out and they have bugger all to show for it. Be thankful that Gazidis and the board have their fingers on the pulse in this regard.