I think most of us have reluctantly accepted that Cesc is about to depart, but a lunchtime newsflash yesterday, in which Cesc was quoted as saying that the decision of whether he moved was now “out of his hands”, gave me a shred of hope that something might be salvaged from such a disappointing end to Arsenal’s season. Video footage of the press conference can be seen here.

In keeping with the current spirit of Cameron-Clegg bonhomie and compromise, could not Arsenal and Barcelona agree terms for the transfer of Cesc at the end of next season? I realise that would settle his move once and for all, but to be honest it looks highly likely he will leave now anyway and there are advantages all round from a relatively short delay:

• Barcelona can postpone difficult decisions on team selection viz-a-viz Xavi and Iniesta
• Cesc walks straight into the Barcelona team
• Arsenal do not need to compromise on price by taking makeweights in part-exchange, like Yaya Toure or – heaven forbid – Ibrahimovic
• Cesc retains his dream of winning something with Arsenal, playing in any case the style of football he so clearly loves
• One year on, if those winners’ medals don’t materialise, Cesc is still young enough to win the trophies he so merits with Barcelona
• No one could possibly feel that Cesc had let Arsenal down by reneging on his contract (mind you, I think we don’t anyway)
• The Premier League appreciates what they nearly lost and get referees to clamp down on two-footed tackles from lumbering lumps like Ryan Shawcross and Martin Taylor (and pigs might fly)

Impossible? Well, I remember chanting ‘One More Year’ for DB10, along with thousands of others on the North Bank that night against Everton, with little hope that AW would change his mind. But change it he did – and as a result we had a bonus year of Bergkamp and a dignified end to the great man’s career. Knowing in advance that this really was Cesc’s last year might focus the minds of those Arsenal players who at times seem less than committed.

An Arselona Coalition? Well, stranger things have happened, haven’t they?