It's a new dawn, it's a new day, it's a new deal for Adebayor.

Arsenal confirmed that the striker has signed a new long term contract - and obviously someone running the website has a sense of humour because the picture they used couldn't possibly have been any better. So well done to Adebayor, he got himself a pay rise. Now the pressure is really on to show that he deserves it, time to get your shooting boots on, Ade.

Tomas Rosicky must be bored. Since he limped off at Newcastle he's had little to do but eat pies if the pictures of him at the game on Saturday are anything to go by. He's dragged up a whole lot of stuff from last season, particularly the Birmingham game. I think we can all point to that game as a turning point in our season but is there really any need for one of the players to bring it up at the start of the new campaign? He really should just shut up and concentrate on trying to be fit for more than a couple of games at a time. Then fans might be interested in what he has to say.

With so many talented youngsters at the club the best way for them to get first team experience is to go out on loan. It looks like Kieran Gibbs could spend the season at Reading, Norwegian central defender Harvard Nordtveit has joined Spanish 2nd division side Salamanca for the season while Young Guns reports Dutch striker Nacer Barazite will join Derby on loan. Good luck to all them.

With fans eagerly awaiting a new signing (or two) Arsene Wenger says that absences make the squad stronger. It's curious logic and in one way it does make sense. Players who would necessarily have got to play otherwise get experience but it's a bit like saying famine makes you fuller because there are less people around to eat what little food there is. We're starving Arsene, buy us some chips!

Samir Nasri, who had been left out, has been called up to the France squad for their friendly this week. He'll join Gallas, Clichy and Sagna on international duty. Update: Now he's been withdrawn from the squad because of a thigh injury. Great.

Beyond that there's not much to tell you. Shaping up to be a fairly dull week so far. 

More tomorrow.

Morning all, it's the start of another week. Dreary too. The weather really is depressing for summertime.

After the chorus of boos that Emmanuel Adebayor was treated to on Saturday Arsene Wenger has urged fans to get behind the Togonator and leave what happened in the summer in the past. He says:

We have to get behind him and support him because he is of tremendous importance for the team and you want your fans to be behind him. What happened in the transfer period did not always reflect his deep desire [to stay] and there was manipulation from agents on both sides.

I'm sure Adebayor heard what happened and I have no doubt it must have been upsetting. But that's life. Sometimes you make choices and do things and you piss people off. It takes a bit of time to heal the wounds. I have no doubt there were agents sticky fingers all over what happened in the summer but ultimately the player has to take responsibility for it. I read a great quote from Gael Clichy who said of transfer rumours and speculation:

In my opinion if you want to be in a newspaper you will be in a newspaper. If you don't want to be then you won't be.

So the bottom line is that Adebayor has made his bed and as uncomfortable as it is he's got to lie in it. That said the manager is also right. Booing players rarely ends up being terribly positive but perhaps there's just only so much fans can take. Sp*rs fans gave Berbatov a good booing for wanting to go to United, Villa fans booed Gareth Barry for wanting to go to Liverpool and Arsenal fans expressed their distaste at Adebayor's apparent desire to leave by booing him. 

In an era when players are paid extortionate amounts of money and the gap between the fan and the player widens ever more maybe it's just time for the player to get a thicker skin. Especially if they rock the boat all summer and expect things to be forgotten about just because they kiss the badge in a meaningless friendly. I do hope Adebayor isn't booed again but at the same time I hope he's got the message and that, maybe, he learns something from it. And when you read stuff like this it really is a shame the way he fucked things up.

On a more positive note Samir Nasri rather enjoyed his day on Saturday. With the manager already making comparisons to Robert Pires (no pressure there then, Sammy) he spoke about his debut, saying:

I could not dream of a better start, to score in my first game after four minutes. Now I will have to continue week in and week out, and hopefully I can keep playing like that, it will be brilliant.

Yes, it will be brilliant. You could see the spark of a lethal new left side partnership between him and Clichy and I think if they get a good run of games together they could become even more dangerous. Pires and Cuntley always worked well down the left before and you get the feeling that's something the manager wants to replicate. Still, it's early days but that was as positive a start from Nasri as you could have hoped for. 

As I said yesterday with a round of meaningless international friendlies this week it's going to be a strange week on the training ground with so many players away. Not the ideal preparation for Fulham on Saturday but that's just the way it goes.

Not much else happening. Just to let anybody who has my email address know that it has changed. The old blogger @ arseblog.com email address got ruined yesterday by some bunch of spamming cunts who flooded my inbox. After downloading about 2,000 'return to sender - you spamming bastard' emails I saw there were another 7,000 waiting to be downloaded so I've nuked that address.

If you do need to get in touch please note the new address (in spam friendly format) is thearseblog AT arseblog D0T com. Please update your address books. 

Right so, enjoy the day, especially if you're a duck. Apart from the duck of death. Clint won't like that. 

So the season starts with a win, three points and a reasonable performance given the understrength nature of the side, particularly in midfield.

There's nothing like an early goal to settle the nerves and that's exactly what we got. It was a lovely goal too. Bendtner played it wide to Clichy, who fed it to Denilson whose run into the box was excellent, he cut it back for new boy Samir Nasri to sidefoot home and to make it 1-0. A debut goal for Nasri will do him the world of good and I liked what I saw of him yesterday. Good on the ball, isn't afraid of having a shot and he works hard. Of course you can't make any judgements based on one performance but it's a positive start for him.

In midfield we had Theo on the right and Emmanuel Eboue in central midfield alongside Denilson. Theo was very quiet in a game where you really wanted him to shine and Eboue, shock horror, had a very decent game in the middle. Obviously he's not the solution to that problem, not by a long way, but credit where it's due. The 1-0 scoreline might have had people a bit more nervous than they would have liked but I think if Cesc had had the chances Eboue had yesterday we'd have won the game by at least three goals.

There were a couple of scary moments, Almunia made a good save after the otherwise impressive Djourou wrongly tried to play offside and the young Swiss made up for it by clearing the rebound off the line. We huffed and puffed a bit up front. Adebayor was trying too hard, if you know what I mean, and he missed a couple of half-decent chances. One moment late in the second half saw him try a Kanu style trick when he should have just played a simple pass to Nasri who was wide open and when the trick didn't come off there was the extraordinary sound of him being booed.

I can't really remember that happening to a player before but it's most certainly a hangover from the summer. I don't think booing players is a good idea but I can understand why some fans, still vexed from his behaviour during the close season, chose to express their distaste. It didn't happen just because he messed up that chance. Still, he worked hard despite not much coming off for him and he made a chance for van Persie who poked it wide with the outside of his left foot. He also crossed for van Persie to head straight at Carson. He put one just wide himself when he really should have scored but hopefully he'll get his head together and his shooting boots on for the next game.

In the end though we didn't really look like adding to the one goal nor did West Brom look like they were going to score. Kolo Toure came on in place of Theo and the fact we had Eboue in central mid and Toure as a right winger shows you how the squad stands at the moment.

The main thing though was the result. Three points on the opening day is not to be sniffed at, no matter who you're playing, we kept another clean sheet and we will get better than this. Afterwards Arsene Wenger said:

I am pleased with the fact that we didn't concede a goal. We scored two on Wednesday, one today, so it's better than the reverse. Overall it was a good week for us. A winning start, a win in the Champions League, so yes a good week.

And given how nervous fans were heading into these two games I think you can call it a good week. There are many positives to take from it and also things that must have become clear to the manager in terms of how the squad needs to be bolstered, but we shall wait and see what happens there.

In other news Justin Hoyte has left Arsenal to join Middlesboro. I think every Arsenal wishes him well up there (apart from twice a year) and I hope his career kicks on. The fee is around £3m which, when you add to the £12m for Hleb, the £1m for Gilberto and the money received from the sell-on of Rat Faced Chav to Sp*rs from Blackburn puts us in the black for our summer dealings. Let's just hope there's too much money under Arsene's mattress for him to have a good night's sleep. He may just have to spend some.

Could some of it go on Liverpool's Xabi Alonso? The News of the World reports Alonso is fed up with Benitez after he tried to sell him all summer and bring in Gareth Barry. I think he'd be an excellent signing and while he is cup-tied in Europe it's only for the group stages of the Champions League, I think. He would be eligible for the knock-out rounds as he's only played in the qualifying round. That said if I were Liverpool I wouldn't possibly sell him to us. It'd make no sense whatsoever to obviously strengthen one of your rivals. Still, stranger things have happened.

Update: I'm wrong. He'd be cup-tied for the whole CL season. 

Reports from Spain this morning say that Arsenal will allow Fran Merida to go on loan for the season to Real Sociedad. He spent the last part of last season on loan at the Basque club and a full campaign is seen as good for his development. Good luck to him there.

And that's really about it. There's a strange week ahead for the squad with many of them on international duty. These early season friendlies really are a pain in the hole and we can only hope that the lads come through unscathed. It may just give Arsene time to count up all the pennies in his jar and go shopping though. Fingers crossed.

Ok, enjoy your Sunday, Arsebandits. More tomorrow.

So here it is. At least. The new season. Are you excited? Chomping at the bit? Psyched? Pumped?

Yeah, all of those things. As usual on the eve of a big game we hear a lot from Arsene Wenger at his pre-match press conference. Sometimes on a Saturday morning I look at the glut of stories and it's amost intimidating thinking about how to sort them and present them.

I suppose the main thing is the team news and we have Kolo Toure and Samir Nasri back compared to the squad that faced Schteve McClaren'sh Eff-shee Twente, but the boss admits Kolo is still a little bit short of fitness. He says he doesn't have any choice but to rush him back because of injuries. I wonder will he start though? Djourou was good the other night so he may stick with the Swiss and Gallas and have Kolo there just in case. If he starts Kolo it's because of concerns over Gallas and that he might be better with Kolo alongside him, we'll see.

I think Nasri will start on the left and I just have a feeling that because of the inexperience of Ramsey and Denilson that Walcott will make way for Eboue on the right hand side. The boss will call it 'balance', or something.  

He also spoke about having money to spend, saying he could splash out £30m on a player if he wanted to. When asked why he didn't, he said:

For £30million you speak about a striker. I have Van Persie, Adebayor, I have Bendtner who I was patiently building up to be at the level I want him to be. So why should I buy? Now I have Carlos Vela, Eduardo Da Silva. We have the quality. That’s why.

Which is fair enough. What is interesting though is that it's yet more confirmation that the money is there. There has been a consistent message from the club and from the manager that funds are there, despite what some scaremongerers would have you believe, yet the manager chooses to spend more frugally than some people would like. 

He talks about balancing the books (obviously important) and developing talent (citing Adebayor for whom we paid £4m) and those are fine things. However, when there's a big need for a player in a very important part of the squad then there are times when you have to spend big and I think that's what he's going to have to do to get the midfielder we need.

Interesting Rafa Benitez, in his pre-match press conference, let slip that he had no part in the talks 'about Alonso and Arsenal', referring to his board. So obviously there was more to that story than we actually thought. With Alonso now cup-tied for this season's Champions League it may do one of two things. Firstly we may go back and make a lower offer for the player because it does affect his value. Secondly it may end whatever interest we have and make us look elsewhere. I'm somewhat comforted by the fact we were looking at a player of his quality instead of some unheard of Algerian wonderkid. The Guardian reports that Alonso has asked to leave so who knows?

When it comes to signings though he's still playing his cards close to his chest, saying we're not close to signing anyone but that he's relaxed because there are 16 days left to do it. On the other hand though you hear him talk about how the physical demands on Ramsey and Denilson are high after the Twente game and you wonder why he doesn't hurry it up a bit. Signings will come though, I'm sure of that. 

In terms of the season ahead though the boss believes we can win the title and is aware that silverware, which has eluded us in recent years (albeit by the skin of its teeth a couple of times), is necessary. He says:

Every season is a season when you have to win something. For me the two massive trophies are the Premier League and the Champions League. We were close in both competitions [last season]. So let's go and try again. We want to win things.

Hurrah. I want to win things too. I mean I want Arsenal to win things. Although I wouldn't mind winning something, like the Euromillions jackpot but I'll get back on track now. We have a reasonable start to the season, the fixtures could certainly have been more tricky, so it's a good chance for us to get off to a good start. We saw what happened a couple of seasons ago when we started poorly and were basically out of contention by the end of September. Although I do remember United losing a couple of games early on last season and look where they ended up, the cunts.

Anyway, I'm sure the players have at the moment are focussed, ready for what lies ahead and hungry for success and trophies. Today's game against West Brom should be interesting. Very much a footballing side (something Arsene Wenger will appreciate) in the Championship last season there's the suggestion that they may modify their style for the Premier League and be more direct and physical as they battle for survival. We'll see today. It'll be a tough test for the lads, promoted teams always have this great vim going into new seasons and to play their first game against one of the top teams will ensure they're going to give us a good scrap today.

Fingers crossed we can get off the start we all want. I'm feeling those little butterflies already. God, I missed those butterflies. Football is back. I love football. I love Arsenal.

Come ooooooooooooooon. 

So the new season is upon us, we kick off tomorrow against West Brom and as is traditional on Arseblog here's a preview of our squad.

Goalkeepers: Jens Lehmann was a hugely experienced keeper yet it was his mistakes that gave the chance to Manuel Almunia last time around. Almunia probably never expected to get a chance at a club as big as Arsenal and he took it well. There's a big difference between the scatty, nervous Almunia who came to the club a few years ago and the one we see today. He's more confident, more solid and I thought he had a very good season last time around.

He could probably be a bit more dominant in the area but he's a good shot stopper and distributes the ball well. What kept him on his toes last season was the fact that Jens Lehmann was just waiting for a mistake so he could claim the number one jersey again. It didn't happen and that shows he can cope with pressure. This time around he's got Lukasz Fabianski pushing him and after the display against Sevilla I feel a lot more confident about the young Pole. I know it was only a pre-season game but it was a breakthrough performance for him. Behind him there's Italian Vito Mannone making up the goalkeeping trinity. I don't really have any worries in this area:

Verdict: Almunia may not have the profile of Cech, van der Sar or Reina but I don't think he's too far away from them in terms of quality and is probably underrated. We're as solid as anyone else here.

Defence: Last season we had an obvious weakness in the centre of defence and to my mind that still exists. There are legitimate questions to be asked about the Toure - Gallas partnership and, for me at least, both of those players operate better with a more traditional stopper behind them. They might be our best two defenders but they don't make the best pairing. Senderos made mistakes last season but it shouldn't be forgotten that he and Gallas forged a decent partnership during the early part of the 2008 while Toure was away. That his mistakes came in such a profile game meant they won't be forgotten while the good stuff is.

Johann Djourou is back from Birmingham and he did well against Twente the other night. Let's remember that Senderos is just 23 and Djourou 21, still very, very young in the life of a centre-half and I suppose the manager is counting on them having more experience and being better this time around. Whether that happens or not remains to be seen.

Our first choice full backs are as good as you get anywhere. Clichy and Sagna were both wonderfully consistent last season and contributed a great deal to the side. Given how often they get forward though you might ask for a little more from them in the final third but that's probably just being picky. I do have concerns about our back-up for them though. After Sagna we probably have Eboue who is certainly a better right back than right winger but that's not saying much, while Armand Traore at left back is still way too raw in my opinion. He's definitely one that needs a loan spell to gain experience.

After that it's a struggle, especially with Justin Hoyte (who can play right back, left back and in the centre at a push) seemingly on his way out of the club. I think it's probably the best thing for him and for his career but it leaves us a little light at the back should we suffer injuries. And given the fact this is Arsenal I think it's fair to assume we're going to suffer injuries.

Verdict: I'm concerned that our frailty from last season has not been addressed and that we'll remain vulnerable to that ball through the middle which opens us up like butter. I think we could probably do with a signing in here.

Midfield: Ahhh midfield, so many words have been spoken about this area during the summer. But let's start with the positives. I think if we see Walcott and Nasri emerged on the right and left respectively we'll improve in those positions. Theo still struggles to impose himself on games, as witnessed the other night, but at the end of the day the stats will show he got an assist. Nasri is young but has a lot of experience - 4 seasons under his belt at Marseille and 12 French caps. He's got more of an eye for goal than Hleb and while the Belarussian might be better at ball retention there were too many times when you wanted him to retent the fucking thing in the goal. Nasri can provide more from an attacking and end product point of view.

Eboue was an experiment that failed at right wing last season. I'd be very disappointed to see him play there again this season for a sustained period although I have a feeling he may start tomorrow to add some experience to a very young central partnership. Rosicky is a fine player when he's fit but as we all know that happens as rarely as a Hleb goal.

It's the centre where we have the main issue of course and I think everyone knows what's required. With Cesc injured and Diaby as injury prone as your common or garden Rosicky then we're left with Denilson and 17 year old Aaron Ramsey. After that it's 16 year old Jack Wilshere. With the greatest of respect to those young players that's not good enough for a club like Arsenal and for a club which has lofty ambitions like winning the league or the Champions League. We need to spend money on a quality player to play alongside Cesc and there are plenty of games for the others to make their mark and push for the first team.

We need a 'Flamini' in my opinion. Someone whose energy and workrate allows Cesc to go forward more and to exploit the attacking side of his game. It worked very well last season, Cesc was in double figures for goals and as our most creative player we have to set ourselves up to get the best out of him. Who that player will be is beyond me though. The usual suspects like Barry, Alonso and Yaya Toure are all cup-tied for the Champions League now so that may rule them out, unless the boss decides we can cope in Europe this season and he prioritises the domestic league. Wenger says a signing will definitely be made before the return leg against FC Twente, we just have to wait and see who it is.

Verdict: Better on the wings but too weak in the middle just at the moment. We can thank our lucky stars our start to the season isn't more tricky. Get a quality player in alongside Cesc though and I think we'll all feel more comfortable and it will give the squad that extra depth it needs.

Strikers: We've got good strikers but they all beg questions. Can Adebayor repeat the goalscoring feats of last season? Will van Persie stay fit for the duration of the campaign? Can Bendtner push on and get more goals this time? Will Carlos Vela adapt quickly enough to the Premier League? Can Eduardo recover from that horrific injury and be the player he was beforehand?

I suppose the one thing you can say is that we have plenty of competition, especially if Theo Walcott can play up there too. A lot depends on the two most experienced strikers. Adebayor and van Persie showed they link up well in pre-season but we have to be mindful of the kind of the service they get and this goes back to midfield. If Cesc has a partner who gives him licence to go forward then he'll create chances for them and for the others. If we ask too much of Cesc from a defensive point of view we could struggle a bit.

What's good is that both Adebayor and van Persie have a lot to prove. Adebayor needs to win the fans back after his summer shennanigans, van Persie needs to show people that for all his undoubted talent and ability he's a player we can count on. How many of you cringed on Wednesday night after his clash with the Twente keeper? I know I did and the fact that he stayed on was almost a surprise. He's been unfortunate with injuries but we've also been patient, it's payback time now please, Robin.

I like Bendtner, he looks a bit lazy but he scores goals. As I pointed out some time back he got more goals in one season from the bench than Aliadiere in his entire Arsenal career. Some of those goals were vital too. He's still young and quite raw but he'll get us 10-15 goals I think. Vela offers something different, pace, direct running and he doesn't looked overawed so far. Eduardo, well, we'll see. Henrik Larsson came back from a terrible injury and it never looked like it affected him for a second, so I think it's down to how strong the Crozilian is mentally. Fingers crossed because he was beginning to look a fine player before it happened.

Verdict: Bags of talent and ability but much depends on the service they get and on them answering the questions posed above. There are goals there though and decent competition between them. With a 7 man bench this season there's pressure on those on the pitch to perform because they know there's someone waiting to take their place. Quietly confident.

Overall: I think everyone has written us off already, which is quite nice really. I enjoy that in a way. They did it last season and we came close. However, this time I think even the most positive of fans knows that we need to bolster the squad to be realistic contenders at home and in Europe. I have a feeling we're going to bring in not just the one player Arsene talks about but another one too. That's not based on any inside info or anything just a hunch.

What's also going to be important this season is leadership. Let's start everyone with a clean slate and put what happened last season behind us. Gallas must show that he's learned from his mistakes. Kolo has to step up and be a leader, Cesc will always lead by example but as one of the senior players in the squad he's got some responsibility too. With Flamini gone we're kind of a quiet team, he was always talking, barking orders, organising and we might miss that.

If the pain of last season is as raw for the players as it is for the fans then that's got to be a huge motivational factor. We got ourselves into a fantastic position and we blew it, there's no other way of putting it. There's more pressure this year, there's a bigger expectation of silverware from the fans and there's this unease that I spoke about in the week about the state of our squad.

However, I think the guts of a good side is there, add to that properly and we're just as capable of winning the league as anyone else. I find it difficult not to be positive and excited at the start of a new season. I see us winning every game. I know it's not going to happen but a man can dream, can't he? I'd be much more positive with some additions to the squad and given there's two weeks between now and the close of the transfer window I think we'll be in a much better position to judge at that point.

If we get off to a good start though and get points on the board then I think everyone's outlook will be a little rosier. For now though, come on you goooooooooooners!

Right then, quick round-up of the news. Adebayor says we need to win dirty and talks positively about the new season, Justin Hoyte could be on his way to Boro and Toure and Nasri are likely to be in the squad for tomorrow's game against West Brom (whose manager has nice things to say about Arsene Wenger). Now for the Arsecast.

In this week's show I chat with Goodplaya about the midweek game and the start of the new season, there are some of your voicemail thoughts on how we'll fare, the man in the bar has a player history, there's a tale of the unexpected and more.

To subscribe to the Arsecast in iTunes simply click here, the direct feed URL is here, to download this week's arsecast directly - click here (16mb MP3). You can find the arsecast archives here. And you can listen directly below without leaving this very page.

As well as that there's a dedicated Arsecast hotline available all season long should you desire to make a comment, get something off your chest, share a song a chant or hilarious anecdote. Feel free to call it any time during the week, it'll go to voicemail and you can leave your message. The number from inside the UK is 020 3286 6360 or from outside the UK it's +44 20 3286 6360.

Right, that's enough. I'm knackered after all that. I might go back to bed. Till tomorrow.

Last night was all about the result and on that basis nobody can have any complaints this morning.

Yes, we all know how light the squad is, we know how many players we had out injured, but there really is no need to cover all the old ground again. As expected we started with Ramsey and Denilson in the centre of midfield and I thought overall they did pretty well. Twente, knowing how youthful we were in there, set up to make life even more difficult for us by playing 5 in midfield. Classic McClaren spoiling tactics and for the most part it worked quite well.

The first half was a real struggle for us. One long range Clichy effort apart (from which Sagna put the rebound wide) we didn't have much to show as an attacking threat. On the hand there were some worrying moments at the back from us. Almunia came out to smother one attack, Gallas played a crazy offside which saw their striker go through but he stumbled and again Almunia came out to stop the attack, and Clichy and Denilson were opened up way too easily on the edge of the box allowing their player to shoot not far over the bar.

The second half was better from us, Twente faded a bit, we seemed to find our range a bit better and we opened the scoring when the Penis of William Gallas cocked one home from a Robin van Persie free kick. There was a touch of good fortune about it but sometimes that's what you need. It's a bit of a cliché but you make your own luck at times and Gallas' run and the timing of it was down to him being the most experienced Arsenal player on the pitch. We didn't do much else to trouble the Dutch goal but late on Djourou played a nice ball over the top for the otherwise quiet Theo Walcott who squared to Adebayor who scrambled it home to make it 2-0. Job done and that really is as much as we need to think about this morning (goals via 101greatgoals).

It wasn't pretty, it wasn't much fun to watch, but it's a result we can take back home and it does make life a bit more comfortable for us. Afterwards Arsene Wenger said:

We were a very young team and we did not lose our nerve, did not panic. In the end maybe our technical superiority allowed us to score two goals - that is a massive advantage for the second leg, but we will be on our toes.

The absence of Cesc was keenly felt but then any side in the world would miss him. What's amazing about him is the way he finds space and time on the ball no matter who he's playing against but it will have been a good learning experience for both Denilson and Ramsey. The former really does show for the ball all the time, he doesn't hide, while Ramsey displayed that fantastic engine the boss spoke about but you can see how he can improve the technical side of his game. It looks like they'll have to team up again to face West Brom on Saturday so here's hoping that last night helps them establish a decent partnership.

The return leg takes place on August 27th. Now though it's time to concentrate on the Premier League. We're just two days away from the start and we have the honour, if you can call it that, of kicking off the new season. Lots to come in the next day or two in terms of previews and pre-match, pre-season analysis. If you missed it yesterday then Arseblog's Perry Groves (not the ginger legend Perry Groves) wrote a piece summing up his thoughts ahead of the new campaign. Check out Thoughts from the top of the blue quadrant here.

Theo Walcott is back in England U21 set-up but I don't think there's any harm in that. Other than that there's not a great deal to tell you, news and squad news ahead of Saturday to come tomorrow along with an Arsecast.

Now, the other day we ran a competition for you to win a copy of Arsènal - the book co-written by Alex Flynn and Kevin Witcher of the Gooner. I asked you what was Arsene Wenger's first game in charge of Arsenal and the answer was, of course, Blackburn Rovers (a 2-0 win). He had a hand in the game against Borussia Monchengladbach but was not officially Arsenal manager at that stage. There are five copies to give away and the RNG has pulled the following fives names from the hat:

John Deasy - Patrick Bogan - Paul Aries - Eoghan Mitchell - Holly Hickman.

Congratulations to all of you. I'll be in touch to get your details some time today. If you didn't win thanks for entering (I should repeat that unless otherwise stated Arseblog competitions are open to everybody no matter where you live) but remember you can get the book at a discount price thanks to Arseblog.

Arseblog readers can get over £2 off the £12.99 publishers’ online price, making the book £10.91 plus postage and packing. Of the money you save, over £1 per copy will be donated to charity. Originally, Arseblog was going to donate any moneys raised to the David Rocastle Trust, but it seems to no longer exist. So the next best thing seems to be to donate it to the Cancer Research UK charity in memory of the great man, and in the hope that they can find a cure for the disease that robbed us of an Arsenal legend.

To buy the book online, simply click here and select ‘buy now’. In the window that opens enter the word rocky in the promotion code box and your £2 will be discounted when you press the ‘go’ box next to it.

Right then, that's your lot. More tomorrow.

We spoke during the week about how an injury to either Cesc or Denilson would leave us very stretched in central midfield and sadly that's the situation we're faced with as the former has a hamstring strain that will rule him out for the next two weeks or so.

Not only that, going into tonight's game against FC Twente we're missing also missing Kolo Toure and Philippe Senderos as well as the other names we weren't expecting to play anyway. It looks as if Aaraon Ramsey, just 17 years of age, will start alongside Denilson in midfield tonight. I suspect we'll line up like this:

Almunia - Sagna - Djourou - Gallas - Clichy - Eboue - Ramsey - Denilson - Walcott - Adebayor - van Persie

The full squad is here and as you can see we are very light on options in defence should we pick up a knock there and when our next option for central midfield is 16 year old Jack Wilshere then it really does highlight just how light the squad is. Arsene Wenger says:

Basically, it is a choice of a young player or an even younger one. The trouble is, when you have to play Champions League qualifiers so early, you push players and they get injuries, which is what has happened.

All well and good but injuries happen and maybe it's just me but at Arsenal they seem to happen all the time. The best way to cope with injuries is to have a squad big enough and to have players who aren't injury prone. In central midfield we've spoken about how often Diaby is out injured yet we go out and buy Bischoff who hasn't played a game since 1876.

It's the absence of Cesc that's so worrying though. He is absolutely pivotal to us but perhaps we're expecting too much from him. As I mentioned he only returned to pre-season training on July 29th, that was after a long, tough season with us then a Euro 2008 campaign with Spain. Should we really be putting him in a position where he has to play so soon? Had we gone out and bought the central midfielder everyone knows we need then we could have eased him back in a bit slower.

Of course that's easy to say with hindsight but it's little more than common sense. So tonight is going to be interesting. I still think we're capable of beating Twente but I imagine the Dutch side will be looking at our team, seeing who's out and thinking that if they have any chance of winning the tie then they've got to go for it tonight. Obviously McClaren's usual conservative way of thinking might scupper that but if I were the coach I'd be looking for my team to go out and really give it a good try.

On the other hand it's a chance for Ramsey to impress. He came looking for first team football and now he's got it. Of him Arsene Wenger says:

Ramsey has a lot to learn. He has a fantastic engine, is good on the ball with a reasonable technique, although he has to improve that.

Denilson too will be rubbing his eyes wondering how, all of a sudden, he's become the senior player in central-midfield and it's a good chance for him to show the manager that he's good enough to be considered there on a regular basis, not just in an injury crisis. He's had a good pre-season and hopefully he can continue that form tonight. He must know, and Ramsey too, that it's a fantastic opportunity. It might not be ideal for us but I suppose this is where we really see what players are made of.

So while the injuries are worrying and there's plenty to discuss the bottom line is we can't do anything about it ahead of tonight's game. We'll have eleven players on the pitch and we need to get behind them and support them. The danger is that another injury in central midfield and we're looking at playing Ramsey and Wilshere in the opening game of the Premier League season - and when Arsene realises their combined age is 33 he'll sell them both and play two 14 year olds.

Whatever plans the manager has to buy somebody (and however long he wants to leave it to get the best value possible) are going to have be revised. The squad is now threadbare and it's time for the club to sort it out. We can't wait for Diaby to return, we can't seriously be counting on Bischoff to play any significant part this season and even the players themselves want the manager to sign an experienced midfielder. Once tonight is over and done with then some serious work has to go into addressing this problem, and it is a problem.

I don't think I can ever remember, certainly not in recent times anyway, such a collective sense of unease amongst Arsenal fans going into a new season. There's certainly hope and expectation but there's just the feeling we're living under a cloud a bit at the moment. The perfect solution to that is us winning games though, and hopefully we'll start tonight.

In other news Middlesboro have confirmed they've made a bid for Justin Hoyte and are awaiting a response from Arsenal. Given the current state of the squad and the fact that we only have two fit centre-halves and (sadly) Eboue is needed in midfield I'd be surprised to see it happen. On the other hand I wouldn't be surprised at all.

Fran Merida could spend this season on loan at Real Sociedad, where he spent some of the last campaign. I was surprised not to see him involved in pre-season at all and I wonder, with the emergence of Wilshere and the purchase of Ramsey, if the breakthrough will ever come for him at Arsenal.

Thoughts from the top of the blue quadrant - an article by Arseblog user Perry Groves. 

Right, well that's about it. The new season is just hours away. I'm nervous but excited. I'm nercited and excervous. Come on you reds.

So here we are, just a day away from the new season.

Despite worries over the midfield I'm excited, I have to say. No matter what my head says about the fact we need that player my heart, as always, is full of promise and hope for the campaign ahead. We're starting with a crucial game against FC Twente in the Champions League.

Robin van Persie summed up how important qualification is, saying:

Arsenal need to play in the Champions League. If you have players like ours and a stadium like ours, you need to play at the highest level in Europe.

He then said Twente were Dutch football's Sp*rs, as if we needed any further motivation for this match. I think we have more than enough for Steve McClaren's men but the fact the former England and Boro manager is in charge gives it a bit more of an edge. Of course people are a bit more nervous than they might like and while I don't think it's going to be a walkover by any means I think we have the quality and ability to win this tie.

Bar Cesc and perhaps Kolo the rest of the squad have had a good pre-season. Results have been decent, performances not bad and, like the holic says, probably over-analysed so I think we're in good shape for tomorrow night. We'll probably miss Nasri and Diaby through injury but apart from that I think we have everyone (lifers like Rosicky and Eduardo apart) available.

Speaking of Rosicky he says he's not going to risk coming back too soon and he's just started doing some work with the ball. Looking at what he's saying I think we'll be lucky to see him this side of Christmas. September sounds optimistic given the fact he can't even kick a football properly.

The Sun and the Mirror link us with Ghanaian Athony Annan. I know nothing about him but I hope when it comes to a midfield reinforcement we have our sights set higher than that.

Joe Cole talks about Theo Walcott.

Fuck off (again) Ian Wright. 

And that's really about it. So while we wait for more news, which is sure to emerge during the pre-game build-up and press conferences, how about a competition? Ok then. There's a new book called Arsènal co-written by Alex Flynn and Kevin Witcher, editor of the Gooner fanzine.

It covers the influence of Arsene Wenger over Arsenal since his arrival 11 years ago and includes exclusive interviews with the man himself. Now, not only do we have a competition to win the book we're also giving you a lovely discount for when you purchase a copy - and the best thing is that discount goes to a charity that, sadly, most of us will have some affinity to.

Arseblog readers can get over £2 off the £12.99 publishers’ online price, making the book £10.91 plus postage and packing. Of the money you save, over £1 per copy will be donated to charity. Originally, Arseblog was going to donate any moneys raised to the David Rocastle Trust, but it seems to no longer exist. So the next best thing seems to be to donate it to the Cancer Research UK charity in memory of the great man, and in the hope that they can find a cure for the disease that robbed us of an Arsenal legend.

To buy the book online, simply click here and select ‘buy now’. In the window that opens enter the word rocky in the promotion code box and your £2 will be discounted when you press the ‘go’ box next to it.

To enter the competition simply answer the following question. Arsene Wenger's first match in charge of Arsenal was against:

a) Borussia Monchengladbach b) Sp*rs c) Blackburn Rovers.

Send your answer to book@arseblog.com and I'll announce the 5 winners on Thursday morning.

Right so,

Just under a year ago we had so many central midfielders we didn't know what to do with them. Some played at right back, some didn't play at all, some played out on the wing.

Now we're as short of central midfielders as Sp*rs are of league titles won in the era of colour television. Going into Wednesday's game against FC Twente we only have Cesc and Denilson as what you might call 'established' midfield players. And Denilson has a whopping total of 23 league games under his belt.

Abou Diaby has been ruled out for a month and at this stage we need to look seriously at his position within the squad. If he is being considered as a genuine contender for a midfield place then a rethink needs to take place because this lad is never fit. You just can't rely on him and when the chances are there for him to make a mark or to try and establish himself he can't take them.

From everything the boss is saying he's going to make a purchase and that's good, it's just when this purchase is going to take place. AW says:

We try to find the right player. My target is always to spend the right money on the right player, therefore the timing of your buy is also important as well.

I know the closer you get to the end of the transfer window the better value you can get but consider an injury to either Cesc or Denilson against Twente and we're heading into the opening game of the new season with one fit central midfielder. It's nonsensical that a club like Arsenal should be in this position. I know the game is against West Brom but you take a team for granted in this league and you can get found out. And we know to our cost how difficult it is to claw back from a bad start in the league.

It's hard to know who he's going to bring in. The smart money appears to be on the Swiss international Inler but the boss says:

I do not know yet if it will be with the Swiss or somebody else - but it is not necessarily the Swiss boy [Inler], though. Do not forget we have Diaby, who is not available, and [Alex] Song, who is at the Olympics, is a very good midfielder.

Well, Diaby we've already mentioned and while I know Wenger likes to give players their chances he's surely got to see he's dealing with someone who if he were a horse would have been shot by now. And as for Song, well now he's a very good midfielder. A few weeks ago he was a very good centre-half. I can imagine he'd be a very good keeper should we suffer a series of injuries in that department too. 

There's the suggestion that he might be waiting to see if Liverpool play Xabi Alonso in the Champions League which would essentially rule out any deal because he'd be cup-tied. After the Amsterdam tournament Robin van Persie spoke about how we're missing an experienced player in the centre of the park and when you hear the players talk about where the side is suffering then you know there's a real issue.

I'm all for getting the best value when buying a player. It's just common sense. But at this point common sense says we need a midfielder and we need him now. Cesc only returned to pre-season training on July 29th now he's being thrown in because basically we have no choice. The manager is keen to talk up the potential partnership between Cesc and Denilson but to me they're identikit players. Now, I've been impressed with the Brazilian in pre-season, he's put in more minutes than anybody else, he's going to be sharp and he's stronger and better in the tackle that previously but the bottom line is once you go past those two you are looking at kids (real kids, Cesc being 21 and Denilson 20, haha) and kids that aren't ready just yet.

They'll be ready quicker if they can play alongside and learn from experience players but for the moment they shouldn't be this close to starting. They need competition, they need to know they have to really work hard and perform to get into the first team, not just one injury putting them right into the mix. The manager says he has the money - he's now got to go and spend it. This is not a vanity purchase, this isn't something I think he can take his time over, it is, as Foreigner said, urgent.

The transfer market has been very quiet this summer, no doubt about, but I refuse to believe that with all his knowledge of the game that Arsene doesn't have at least 5 or 6 names on a list, players that can come in and do a job straight away. Maybe not all of them have Premier League experience but I think that if you buy the right kind of player from abroad this legendary 6 month settling in period is not relevant. Bring over some guy raw from Brazil or Eastern Europe and perhaps, but if you bring in a quality player from one of the Europe's top leagues then it's not an issue at all.

So hopefully the precarious situation we find ourselves in now will make the manager realise we need that player and we need him yesterday. In the meantime we've just got to keep our fingers crossed that we come through the Twente game unscathed. 

Wenger on Carlos Vela. 

And that's about it for the moment. Not exactly the cheery start to the week we'd all want but there you go. One thing I will say though is that whatever issues we have, or whatever people think about the manager's reluctance to address this central midfield problem, it shouldn't affect the support of the team. They'll go out against Twente and they need the fans behind them.

Till tomorrow. 

Morning all,

so we won a trophy! Hurrah. I think that's the third time we've won the Amsterdam Tournament. We drew 1-1 with Sevilla in a game which told us little that we didn't already know.

Lukasz Fabianski had a quite marvelous game in goal, commanding his area and making some fantastic saves. I was glad to see him have that kind of a game as things like that will ensure competition between the two keepers and competition means you get better performances.

We saw that for all their talent that some of the kids are still very raw. Aaron Ramsey caught in possession twice just outside our box, Johann Djourou once and our full backs got the run around all night. Our goal came from Carlos Vela who showed good strength to hold off the defender and finish well. I think he's going to really push on when surrounded by more experienced players. The manager said it was a lesson in defending under pressure and really it won't have done anyone any harm.

So, pre-season is over and done with and now it's time to get on with the real thing. We start with the Champions League qualifier on Wednesday against FC Twente and with midfield looking very light at the moment there's unlikely to be a signing before that game. Arsene Wenger says:

At the moment, I am not close to concluding any transfer deal, because I am too busy here. Maybe next week something can happen, but for now we have to focus on the Champions League and forget about transfers because it is a big target for us.

Of course it's a big target but wouldn't signing a good player make life a bit easier? Perhaps that's just me. It does look as if there is something going on though and as I said yesterday I think the sooner we do the deal the better. I think, as it stands, we're more than capable of beating Twente but I think everyone would feel a lot more confident if the squad was that bit stronger.

The boss also dismissed reports that Justin Hoyte would be leaving the club saying no firm offer had been received. There was a Boro scout in the stadium last night and I suspect someone told Hoyte because he played like he didn't want to be bought. I thought his performance was very odd last night.

Rounding up the stories in the Sunday papers the News of the World we're 'keeping tabs' on Yaya Toure. Zzzzzz.

They also have a story where Manuel Almunia says Theo Walcott needs to be a bit nastier on the pitch. I remember some film where this American footballer guy was running through to make a touchdown and from under his shirt he took a gun and started shooting the defenders out of his way. That would be cool although probably just a touch too nasty.

And that's really about it. Have yourselves a good Sunday.