Pradeep Kachhala
It's raining outside and I hear that Arsenal's photo shoot has been cancelled. Perhaps the club has dodged a bullet here, due to speculation as to whether two separate photos would need to be taken, one including and another excluding Cesc Fabregas. He really needs to look at the current situation as objectively as possible; he is the captain of a great English club with fantastic resources in one of the greatest cities in the world, where he is guaranteed to play every week.
It seems as though Barcelona are playing mind-games with Cesc. I can imagine him watching his phone constantly for a text from Sando Rosell saying "Deal done, welcome back to Barça", but the more time that passes, the less likely his move seems. Consider just how precarious Barcelona's financial position is, encompassed within a growing unease in the Spanish economy and Europe overall. Put simply, Barça are struggling to come up with the money and have had ample time to gather resources together to bid for him. Instead, they spent their now-limited budget on a winger called Alexis Sanchez. As much as I do not envisage the following happening, I would like to see Cesc release a statement saying something along the lines of, "Barcelona is a great club, but enough is enough, I pledge my long term future to Arsenal and it is unfair for me, the fans, the staff and the club to continually have this unease every summer". Hopeful thinking, I agree, but in many ways the right thing to do. Wake up Cesc: Barça are taking you for a ride.
The Emirates Cup was nothing short of a shambles, and a reflection of everything that went wrong last season summarised in two games. Profligacy in front of goal, leads built and lost in an instant, along with poor defending and a few injury concerns. A few bright spots were the performances of Gervinho and Frimpong. Whilst our front line was impressive last season, without Walcott we lacked pace and the ability to counterattack swiftly like we used to in our prime. Gervinho gives us this, as does Miyachi and, of course, Walcott. On the subject of Miyachi, Wenger seems determined to give him a chance, and, to be fair, he more than impressed at Feyenoord last season on loan. Frimpong seems a bit more than a holding midfielder, showing tenacity and drive in the middle. As mentioned in other articles, perhaps his passing needs improvement, but this will happen as he surely gains first team action this season. Oh, and as far as the booing goes? While I understand the frustration on what has been so far a summer of shambles, booing in pre-season is a little too much for my liking.
It does seem as though loan spells are fast becoming make-or-break chances for young Arsenal players to impress Wenger. Much to my dislike, JET was sold to Ipswich last week, a player who I still believe as a striker will score bags of goals in the Championship and possibly the Premiership. However, while I think this sale could come back to haunt us, his performances at Cardiff were generally quite poor, I recall him playing on the left of midfield during the two-legged play-off semi-finals last season. To put it mildly, he had a stinker. Even the Cardiff fans applauded sarcastically, and one felt that this may be the end of the road for such a talent as far as his Arsenal career went. Good luck, JET. Compare this to Kyle Bartley, who impressed at Rangers and was given a new contract this week. On a similar subject, Wenger was quoted as saying on the Pravda how highly he rates Lansbury, so highly that he didn't bother putting him in the Emirates Cup squad and instead brought on Eboué - a player set to leave the club. Can somebody please explain the logic behind this? Surely Lansbury deserves a chance? I have a feeling that much of our promising talent is being culled at the expense of less worthy players.
Much was made on the Gooner website this week following Kevin's interesting article regarding Cahill and Jagielka. It has been a difficult summer, transfer-wise, and with 10 days to go until the big kick-off, I think there may be an absolute mutiny at the club if we do not sign at least two players. Considering we now pay up to a staggering £100 a ticket (and £4 for a pie), I expect to see top-quality players capable of winning silverware. However, I am convinced that the club is aware of this and signings will be made and confirmed shortly. Whether it is Mata, Cahill and Jagielka is debatable, but the latter two would add a wealth of options at the back.
What is interesting is the re-emergence of British players in our squad. Arguably, next season could feature a team of Gibbs, Cahill, Jagielka, Jenkinson, Walcott, Wilshere, Frimpong and Ramsey. Quite a turnaround from recent seasons. Whether this will fill our trophy cabinet remains to be seen, however. Jenkinson is a strange one for me. He played a handful of games for Charlton last season and was on loan at a non-league club. He hasn't shown anything yet to indicate he is a diamond in the rough, but it is welcoming to know he is an Arsenal fan. Sometimes, these aspects weigh more than talent and skill. However, I feel that the following season will most probably be spent in the reserves and Carling Cup games. If Sagna does spend time on the sidelines, I can see Wenger putting Djourou or Koscielny at right back....Koscielny would be interesting as he is impressive going forward and can pick out a pass.
Finally, with 10 days until the big kick-off, who do you think will be in the starting line up against Newcastle? What changes will be made, who will be bought and who will move on? My team, after looking through my crystal ball, is as follows:
Szczesny, Sagna, Vermaelen, Jagielka, Gibbs, Song, Fabregas, Wilshere, Gervinho, Nasri, Van Persie - yes read into that what you will!
