You can imagine the scenario, as chairman of “Red & White” David Dein’s is in position to finally obtain the chairman’s seat at Arsenal when enough shares are hovered up by the company. His first meeting with Arsene in his new position goes something like this:

“So Arsene who do you want? We have a war chest of 100 million, name your man”

“Actually I am very happy with the squad I have”

“Yes I know you are but forgetting the club line, who do you want?”

“I can only repeat David this squad is good enough to challenge for all the honours”

The point behind my ramblings is that I think Arsene is quite enjoying things as they are at the moment, I know a few defeats could change all that but I believe AW is laying down a blueprint for Arsenal at Ashburton Grove rather like a new beginning, as if our next 20 -30 years depend on how things are laid down now, a self sufficient Arsenal is his priority as it is of the Arsenal board.

The “dash for cash” mayhem that has hit the English football is viewed by some as the only way to compete with Man U & Chelsea, some clubs have spent their TV money for the next few years on “has been” players just to jump a few places up the Premier League, and this new collective madness could bring even some of the so called “big clubs” close to a financial meltdown. (See Phil Wall’s excellent interview with Nigel Phillips of AST in the latest issue of The Gooner)

Big names are not the issue at the moment, getting some “heart & soul” into Ashburton Grove is!

The laughable statement from Mr Kenyon that Chelsea will be self sufficient in five years was blown wide open by their efforts to sign Ronaldinho; they would have justified that by claiming it was a “gift” from their owner.

We may have to miss out on a couple trophies for the next few years but if the new foundations are correctly laid and we keep Arsenal men in key positions it will be worth it. We may be able to keep our club and still win trophies, time will tell but despite my reservation the board are not doing too bad and if Wenger signs his new contract it will show that he believes the board have more substance than is being reported.

The adage you should never go back may well apply to Dein. He played a big part in creating our current position but he should now move on and not let his personal ambition cloud his judgement. Arsenal would be better off with Arsene as a board member not Dein and his new Russian billionaire friend.

More important is that the current board must keep their cool and judging by Edelman’s comments straight after Dein’s announcement stating that nothing has really changed; the board seem quite relaxed and are in control. What does not sound encouraging is the latest from them about making the word “Gooner” their trademark. This is just the kind of thing they would have tried 20 – 30 years ago and it shows that they are still a bit out of touch, I hope this is just a minor blip and not a sign of things to come.

PS. I am not a trademark I am a “Gooner”