Theo and Santi going nowhere

Good news all round

 

 

In a week where Abou Diaby has signed for Marseilles (all the best to him) and Wojciech Szczesny has been sent on loan to Roma (I suspect this isn't a developmental thing) it was becoming a bit of a frustrating week ahead of a Wembley occasion. Where was the signing we've been looking out for? Well it seems we're not getting one of those just yet. In its absence we have been given the next best thing this afternoon with the news of contract extensions for both Theo Walcott and Santi Cazorla. That's a massive boost as far as I'm concerned just before facing Chelsea on Sunday.

The whole Theo business looked like it was set to drag on yet again. It was so important to get it all tied up before the start of the season. The closer things got to January the more the chances of him leaving for nothing in 2016. Clearly the Manager has been able to persuade him that he will get enough time on the pitch despite the presence of Alexis, Giroud, Oxlade-Chamberlain and everyone else that might play wide or through the centre. There is no doubt that, despite being far from the most gifted footballer you'll ever see, Theo's pace scares the living daylights out of even the very best defenders (his record against Chelsea and John Terry/Ashley Cole is superb really). From the bench he can be absolutely deadly and the runs he sometimes makes (and should be making all the time) are just the sort of thing that Ozil has been crying out to play with. In my view Theo is also a decent finisher and he has certainly scored his share of goals. To have him tied up to a deal is massive. Now all we need is for him to finally stay fit enough to play for a prolonged period. The lad probably deserves a bit of luck to go his way. Here's hoping his time has arrived.

The extension for Santi has come as a bit more of a surprise. There wasn't really any talk of contract deals with him so this has come out of the blue. As with Theo it is a massive shot in the arm. At the end of last season that cretin Balague on Sky was telling everyone that Santi was off to play for Atletico Madrid, done deal, everything agreed. He was even "quoting" entire conversations as he always does - he must have better infiltration surveillance technology than MI6 such is the detail he can provide from conversations at which he wasn't present. Of course, as with most things that come out of Balague's mouth, it has turned out to be utter bull***t. After Christmas, with his move to a deeper role next to Coquelin, I thought Santi played his best football since coming to Arsenal. His Man Of The Match award in the FA Cup Final was a bit over the top, but he certainly was a key player in our improved form in the second half of the season. His performance at Manchester City should live long in the memory. He is currently favourite for the name on my shirt this season, just ahead of Koscielny (I'm not buying the away shirt which looks almost brown when you get close to it in the flesh). I couldn't be happier that Santi is staying.

As I said at the top this double announcement is a massive boost before Sunday. I'll be previewing the game tomorrow night (assuming I get home from work at something close to the time I'm supposed to). In the meantime just think about how much you dislike Jose Mourinho and realise that Sunday might be a little more important than it really should be.

Ozil setting the standard early - Arsenal 6 - 0 Lyon

Mesut makes it five

I thoroughly enjoyed my day at the football yesterday. I took my wife and two children to the game and we sat in Club Level for the afternoon, giving us a perfect view of the four first-half goals Arsenal served up. I said after the Everton game last week that it was only pre-season so we shouldn't get too excited just yet. The same thing applies after yesterday. But that shouldn't detract from the Arsenal performance against Lyon. Friendly or not they played with the sort of intensity and work ethic that was evident at Wembley back in May, and which must be carried in to the Charity Shield and Premier League season that lies ahead.

There was a scare or two early on but Emi Martinez had a fine game in goal for Arsenal, with Szczesny on his way out and Ospina not yet back in training (Petr Cech will play today against Wolfsburg). Once Arsenal got going it was a matter of time before we started to create properly. The impressive (again) Alex Iwobi passed up shooting opportunities, choosing to pass square, on a couple of occasions where a little more confidence might have seen us open the scoring. Mesut Ozil, meanwhile, wasn't so much pulling the strings as recording one of Mozart's symphonies from the number 10 position.

When we finally got a goal it was Ozil who provided the perfect free-kick for Olivier Giroud to find the corner of the net. Okay, it eventually went in off his shoulder, but the strength he showed to get away from defenders trying to rip his shirt off his back was impressive (Iwobi later had a goal disallowed for offside, but the referee had totally ignored the clear shirt-pulling on Giroud again as he set the youngster up). Ramsey then broke forward to put Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain in for a superb finish to make it two-nil. When the third arrived a few minutes later it was a classic Arsenal move of one-touch football, expertly rounded off by Alex Iwobi's first goal in a senior Arsenal side. My youngest was getting quite the thrill from the quickfire goals and the noise that surrounded him (his previous visit was the 5-1 win over Benfica in this tournament last season so he's a bit of a lucky charm).

I want to make particular comment on the fourth goal as, if you've only seen it on TV, then you didn't get the full effect of Mesut Ozil's involvement. With the ball deep in the Arsenal midfield, to the left of centre, Ozil sprinted at least fifty yards from right to left, and in to the space for the through-ball, and took it beautifully. Honestly it was a truly sensational piece of play from the German who put in more effort yesterday than he did in 90% of his appearances last season. He then played the perfect pass for the flying Aaron Ramsey who provided one of his special finishes for four-nil. Lyon simply couldn't lay a glove on Ozil as he tore them apart. He was taking people on and closing people down and doing everything he did in the FA Cup Final. That he then topped it off with a goal of his own was just reward for his performance and it was a smashing finish too as he volleyed in to the far corner.

To their credit Arsenal didn't really stop playing and kept looking for goals. Chuba Akpom hit the post, and Theo Walcott missed a sitter just after Santi Cazorla took a lovely free-kick by sliding his shot under the wall which had jumped in anticipation of a chip in to the top corner. The six goals didn't flatter Arsenal at all and it all made for a glorious start to the home season. There was also a very interesting cameo from new signing Jeff Reine-Adelaide. Leaving aside the French pizza toppings in his surname, he looked a little out of place on the right-wing. However, when he came inside to get on the ball he looked a real talent. There was something of Vieira or Diaby in the way he moved with the ball at his feet and he certainly looks like he might be one to watch very soon indeed. What goes against him is that he has the entire Arsenal midfield ahead of him in the ranks just now!

So later today Arsenal take on Wolfsburg in the final game of the competition. They lost 2-1 to Villareal before the Arsenal match yesterday so need to recover some pride at least. They have some decent names in their side, including Schuurle and De Bruyne. Of course their most famous player , to Arsenal fans, is a certain Nicklas Bendtner. I was really pleased to see him get on the pitch yesterday and the ovation he got from the Arsenal supporters was an absolute joy for me, as someone who always sought to defend the misunderstood and badly used Dane. Super Nick also seemed a bit taken aback but he took the time to applaud the Arsenal support for their welcoming gesture and he will have won a few friends as a result. I suspect he might start against us today, and he will certainly be keen to get on the scoresheet. Arsenal will be much changed from yesterday, but if the attitude is similar then we should win our own trophy for the first time in a while.

Careless talk costs money for Arsenal

Lord Harris of Peckham

 

 

It would appear that Lord Harris of Peckham is morphing in to Peter Hill-Wood. The only explanation that can be given for his big reveal of Arsenal's financial position is that he had himself a few too many glasses of a good scotch and got a bit loose-tongued in close proximity to a journalist. I can see no other reason for an Arsenal director to go giving interviews that tell everyone we're stinking rich to the tune of £200m in loose change available for new players. He also made it clear that Arsene Wenger is interested in signing a top centre-forward. Lord Harris, though, is not stupid and didn't reveal who the mystery man is. Shrewd man.

The problem Arsenal now have is that all of Europe knows we have a lot of money to spend. That being the case you can probably add about £10m to the asking price for any top talent we might be trying to bring in. I imagine Ivan Gazidis and Dick Law might not be too impressed with Lord Harris right now as he has just made their jobs a whole lot more difficult. We all know that Arsenal have plenty of money available, but I'm not sure many would have known there was as much as £200m in the bank. Imagine having to now negotiate with a selling club who will know they can maximise their profit by sitting tight on their player.

With two weeks to go until the season starts I am disappointed at the lack of transfer action within the Club. A few have gone out, and a few more will join them. However, the only incoming player has been Petr Cech. Obviously Cech is a first-rate addition to a position that we needed to add more quality to. It seems that, if we are going to add more players, the lessons of previous years have not been learned. I don't understand why the necessary business is not done early, giving new players the chance to settle in and gel with their new team. If we get to the start of the season without any more new signings then we are actually shorter than we were last season. The price of dropping cheap points in the first few games could come back to haunt us come May. I wouldn't say I'm in to panic mode about our lack of transfer business just yet, but I'm certainly worried by it.

 

Of course it's Emirates Cup time this weekend and I am very much looking forward to going to Arsenal tomorrow afternoon for the Lyon game. I'm taking the whole family so my youngest will be seeing his second Arsenal match, though he's more interested in meeting Gunnersaurus again. Hopefully Cazorla will be in the side tomorrow as that will grab his interest. I'll be writing something on the Lyon game very late tomorrow night so you'll probably catch it Sunday morning via the site here, my Twitter feed (@ARSENALDvbrisG) or on the Facebook page (It's MY Arsenal Opinion).

Silverware from a good start - Arsenal 3 - 1 Everton

Mikel Arteta displaying the spoils

 

 

It's a real shame that pre-season results mean next to nothing as Arsenal were outstanding yesterday for the first 70 minutes of the game. Of course the heat and the exertion of playing at high intensity so early in the fitness programme eventually saw the performance peter out slightly, but what went before was more than encouraging.

When I saw the Everton team I was concerned for the ankles and shins of the Arsenal midfield - playing against a combination of Barry and Cleverley might often be a recipe for taking a kicking. As it turned out they simply weren't quick enough to get close to the dominant Arsenal team. If it wasn't for a combination of poor finishing, refusing to shoot, the referee totally ignoring a clear foul on Olivier Giroud in the penalty area, or Aaron Ramsey being too cocky (as usual) then Arsenal would have won by a fantastic margin.

Early on it looked like Jack Wilshere might be getting in down the left but Seamus Coleman came out of nowhere with his pace to get back at Jack. Martin Tyler raved about the pace from the Everton man (Jack was, I think, still slightly suffering from the game on Wednesday). Five minutes or so later Coleman was left for dead by Theo Walcott as he got on the end of a stunning pass  from Santi Cazorla to make it 1-0. It was a superb finish from Theo. Mr Tyler didn't mention Theo's pace being far beyond even that of Coleman.

Arsenal went on to keep Everton trapped in their own half. There was one run from Deolofeu that looked like it might lead to an Everton goal but that was all they really managed to offer until late on. Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain came on for Jack Wilshere at half-time and added even more pace to the Arsenal attack. Two or three times he went on fantastic solo runs that Everton's defenders simply couldn't get near to. With Cazorla looking really good and Ozil growing in to the game it was only a matter of time before we got a second. Cazorla provided the goal from just outside the penalty area having wrong-footed at least two defenders and the goalkeeper.

The third goal was a lovely move between Ozil and Cazorla. Having laid it off to Santi, Ozil got on his bike and ran in behind the Everton defence. Cazorla played him in (if Ozil hadn't controlled it then Walcott would have been in on goal too) and it was placed perfectly beyond the goalkeeper and in to the net. Arsenal really had played some tremendous stuff and thoroughly merited a 3-0 lead. Inevitably the foot then came off the pedal as we started to go through the motions.

With Arsenal slowing down completely it was no surprise that Everton got a goal back. The Ox gave the ball away really badly about thirty yards from his own goal and then Barkley rocketed a shot past the impressive Petr Cech. No doubt Cech might have now realised he isn't playing behind the Chelsea bus. It was frustrating to concede like that. It's only pre-season, of course, but this Arsenal team has a nasty habit of conceding unnecessary late goals - it's an unpleasant habit that could prove costly come next May. There was still time for Chuba Akpom to snatch badly at a chance when put through on the goalkeeper and that was a real disappointment to me - a goal against a Premier League side would have been an important marker for him in front of Arsene Wenger.

So we have another trophy in the cabinet, albeit one that is of no importance whatsoever. Regardless of that, I 'd rather be in the habit of winning than of losing. The performance was great to watch and showed that our players already have a superb level of fitness heading in to the new season. They now face a few more days of re-adjusting back to our own clock, as well as working hard on the training ground. At the end of the week it's the Emirates Cup and our first look at the side at home this season. I can't wait for it. How about a new signing this week Arsene?

Chuba makes it ta-ta for Yaya - Arsenal 4 - 0 Singapore XI

Hat-trick for Akpom

After the fun of the away kit launch yesterday (the highlight of which was Olivier Giroud being caught on camera telling his mates to "f***-off" for laughing at his hair) it was down to some small semblance of business this afternoon for Arsenal. It was always going to be a reasonably comfortable stroll for us, regardless of who was selected for the game, and so it proved. Having been at work today I've just watched the whole game back and was more than happy with what I saw.

Arsenal looked resplendent in the new gold away shirts (I actually quite like this latest PUMA effort - if it isn't yellow then it may as well be gold) and played some decent stuff on occasions. The oppressive heat obviously meant there wasn't a great deal of pace in the game but there was the odd moment from Oxlade-Chamberlain and the impressive Alex Iwobi that saw Arsenal leap in to action occasionally. That two of the goals came from the penalty spot shouldn't detract from the positives for Arsenal.

The headline grabber will be Chuba Akpom and that is only right. The young striker has an impressive goal scoring record in the youth teams these past couple of years and has been banging down the door of the first-team squad for a while. He made a couple of brief substitute appearances in the early part of this year before finishing the season out on loan. Today he very much took his chance when it came along with a good hat-trick. The first goal was an opportunistic strikers goal that he hit first time when the ball bounced his way. The second was a really well taken penalty, and the third a header from a perfect cross by Hector Bellerin (there was a fantastic drag-back by Bellerin just before he crossed the ball too). With Danny Welbeck, Theo Walcott and Olivier Giroud all in front of him Akpom very much needs to catch the eye whenever he can if he is to get a chance this season. In my view we need four strikers, as we had in the days of Bergkamp, Henry, Kanu and Wiltord (and Jeffers was also in the squad at that time) and Akpom is surely in pole position to be that fourth man now.

Yaya Sanogo is seemingly off to Ajax for the season to try and find out what foot each boot goes on. That being the case I would say that Chuba Akpom might just have finally started to put an end to Sanogo's faintly ridiculous time as an Arsenal player. Anyone watching Akpom and Iwobi play could not possibly begin to think that Sanogo is a better player than these two lads. They can get the ball down and lay it off, or run with it, in a way that Sanogo could only ever dream of. I'm sure many would point to Sanogo scoring four goals against Benfica last year but that doesn't change the fact that he doesn't have the football ability of Chuba Akpom. Akpom might well not make it, but he looks a far better bet than Sanogo. Indeed, if Dennis Bergkamp turns Yaya Sanogo in to a top striker over the next season then the man really is God.

Great goalkeepers - Casillas one of the greatest

33 is the new 1 apparently

So Arsenal have finally got around to announcing Petr Cech's squad number. It seems that he has personally chosen to wear 33 on the back of his Arsenal shirt. Among a plethora of reasons he gave was that he intends to be part of Arsenal's spine, and there are 33 vertebrae in the human spine apparently. Who knew Petr Cech was a keen biologist? I had fully expected that he would simply inherit the number of whichever of the other goalkeepers left Arsenal following his arrival. I suspect that Arsenal's commercial arm has taken a hand to hasten the announcement of a number ahead of the Singapore trip this week during which Cech is likely to play his first game in an Arsenal team.

Arsenal have been filling space on the official website this week with lots of pictures from the early pre-season training. Something has struck me from the pictures of our new goalkeeper, and not only the fact that he wears his silly hat on the training pitch. In the past, whenever I've seen photos of the Arsenal goalkeepers in training, they have always been  pictured together. I found it noticeable that Cech appears to be training as an individual. I hope that this is simply a situation created by the camera, but given that Emi Martinez has certainly been in training this week, and that Szczesny was due back the same day as Cech, I find it a concern that the new man might be a bit less about the team and a bit more about himself. Certainly it is something to keep an eye on.

 

As I'm on the subject of goalkeeping it seems timely that Iker Casillas' long career at Real Madrid came to an end yesterday. I never thought I would see Casillas play for any other club in his career. I started to think of the game against Real Madrid at Highbury in 2006 when he produced one of the finest displays of goalkeeping I have ever seen. It's often the case that a goalkeeper gets made to look good in a game by poor finishing (no better examples of this last season than De Gea and Fabianski at our place). That night in the Champions League it was nothing like that. Casillas was simply incredible and totally unbeatable. Thankfully, at the other end, we had Jens Lehmann putting in a similarly outstanding performance including a save from Raul that is up there with the greatest ever. There can have been few better 0-0 draws ever played (the only other 0-0 I remember being quite such a good game was the initial FA Cup semi-final at Villa Park in 1999 against Manchester United). I had long admired Casillas from his first appearances for Real Madrid. That night he was simply the best in the World as far as I was concerned. I wish we could have signed him when Arsene incorrectly decided Jens wasn't the man.

Reminiscing on Casillas got me thinking that I've been lucky enough to see some incredible goalkeepers in the flesh in the last 30-odd years. Many of them would be on any list of all time greats. My very first game saw Pat Jennings and Peter Shilton against each other at Highbury. In the years that have followed I've had the privilege (and frustration) to see the likes of Seaman, Schmeichel, Buffon, Casillas, Van Der Sar, Oliver Khan, Lehmann (who displaced Khan for a home World Cup and nearly won it for Germany), Cech, Manuel Neuer and Vince Bartram. I'd also throw in a mention for Francesco Toldo who must be the most under rated goalkeeper I've ever seen. It's quite the list of greats.

The eagle-eyed will notice that only one of these men is under 30 years-old. Indeed Cech is the second youngest at 33. Take out Courtois and De Gea from the modern crop and I don't see any goalkeeper with the potential to join this list any time soon. That being the case it would seem that it's not just England that is struggling to develop top goalkeeping talent (Joe Hart is way below the standard of these blokes as far as I'm concerned). It pleases me that we have Petr Cech at Arsenal now as, besides a centre-forward who can score tons of goals, most top teams include a top goalkeeper. It has certainly been the case in Arsenal's history.

 

As the week goes on there will be plenty of Arsenal news doing the rounds and we'll get to see some youngsters on Wednesday in Singapore. It would be a surprise to see any signings over the next week as Arsenal's hierarchy are all out there for the Asia Trophy. That being the case we'll just have to hope for a couple of early wins instead.

Jack leads the pack back

The boys are back!

 

 

So pre-season training has officially begun. Some players were back yesterday, as Jack Wilshere proved with a photo on his Instagram feed, but today appears to have been the formal start of the preparations for 2015-16.

The presence of Jack Wilshere at training this week is surely a mark of his commitment. Having been involved in the England squad he has had hardly any time for holidays and rest and it is surely to his credit that he is so determined to get fitter quickly. Of course Jack spent a lot of the actual season last year out injured so maybe a rest from the physical demands is less needed. Whatever the case may be it is simply just good news that Jack Wilshere is fit to begin pre-season and will hopefully stay that way for a long time to come.

A notable absentee from the training today is Mikel Arteta. It seems from reports that he has been handed a new contract and I think that's only right as Arsenal Captain. Arteta has sacrificed his natural game to play for Arsenal and become the leader of this squad. Clearly he is now behind Coquelin in terms of being the first-choice to anchor the midfield, but his presence is important. I've seen many today taking it is proof that Arsenal will not sign a midfield player to challenge (or assist) Coquelin's position but it's early days to be going there just yet. It might be that Arsene will bring in someone and Arteta will become the "Flamini" of the squad this year with the Flamster himself perhaps moving on. I'm not going to panic just yet about our transfer business. What does concern me is that Arteta might well be injured again, assuming he had ever actually recovered at the end of last season, and if he is then we have a problem before we've even got started.

Among the youngsters included with the first-team group today were regulars Isaac Hayden, Gedion Zelalem and Chuba Akpom, but they were joined by Wellington Silva and Daniel Crowley. I will assume that Kristian Bielik is not yet back in training. The presence of Wellington and Crowley perhaps gives an early idea as to who might be boarding the plane to Singapore for next weeks Asia Trophy. It's time for Zelalem and the others to really make their presence felt in the way Cesc Fabregas did many years ago - it's probably now or never for Isaac Hayden, for example.

There have been a couple of moves in terms of squad numbers so far as well, confirmed by updated pages on the official website. Hayden and Akpom have new numbers, and so does Hector Bellerin who inherits the number 24 from Abou Diaby (given that Mathieu Debuchy found himself as injured as Diaby having taken over the number 2 shirt we have to hope Abou hasn't left a curse here!) I feel sorry for anyone who might have had their new shirts printed with the popular Bellerin's number 39 already. Of course we still have no number for Petr Cech and I don't expect one until one of the other goalkeepers moves on.

Arsenal, like every other club, tell us how important pre-season training is. Fitness work is crucial apparently. In the old days I'm sure this was true as there was a proper break between seasons and most players would have gone on the beers etc with little further thought to football until it came time to return to work. However, we now have around five weeks or so between the end of one season and the return to training for the next. Each player is given a programme to follow while they're away and you can be sure most of them at the top clubs would stick to it pretty closely. I really don't see that they would be so out of shape as for the whole pre-season "programme" to be so important. You might think I'm talking absolute nonsense. I am, after all, a supporter and not a sports scientist or a footballer. However, let's remember that players get injured during the season and might be out for at least a month. When they come back to they don't go through a pre-season schedule. They don't play four or five friendlies. They might take part in the odd under-21 game, or behind closed doors match, but then will be either in the first-team or on the bench. What's the difference between four weeks off in June and four weeks off in November? I just don't get it. Arsene regularly talks about "match fitness" but it's a very selective criteria where he is concerned and gives a lie to the importance he places on the five weeks that lie ahead of us now.

With many of the players back in training we are starting to gear up now for 2015-16. They all jet off to Singapore soon for the Asia Trophy which is played next week (I think it's live on Sky) so we'll finally get some Arsenal to enjoy. I'm looking forward to it.

Thanks Podolski, Congratulations Alexis

A smile you'll never forget

 

 

One of my favourite Arsenal players of recent years has finally left us on a permanent basis. The fact that we have done business with Galatasaray again irks me greatly as it does any time we have contact with them that isn't forced by UEFA. I liked everything about Lukas Podolski at Arsenal. Quite apart from an impressive goal scoring record he represents something about the modern Arsenal, post-Highbury, that might easily be overlooked. What am I talking about? After years of signing blokes we'd never heard of, or blokes who just weren't very good, or over-paying (not to mention over-playing) people like Denilson and Eboue, we went out and signed a German superstar at the peak of his career. The signing of Lukas Podolski, though it would end up overshadowed by the unexpected  departure of Robin Van Persie, marked the end of Arsenal austerity and signalled the start of our brave new World. That he never got to hit the heights we might have expected was more about our method on the pitch than it was about Poldi's ability.

The writing was on the wall for Podolski from the day he made his debut (not his two goal opening bow in pre-season back at Cologne) at home to Sunderland. With Van Stapleton gone in that week he was put up front on his own. He was later substituted and would rarely play up front for Arsenal ever again as Wenger immediately lost faith in him up top. Podolski would continue to be in the side (at least until he was inevitably substituted) playing off the left. It is to his immense credit that he kept up a fine goal scoring rate despite being constantly played out of position.

I will always believe that Poldi would have been mega for Arsenal had he been played up front alongside Giroud. On the two occasions that Wenger actually switched to two strikers (in the FA Cup semi-final and Final of 2014) Podolski had been taken off so that Sanogo could come on and play there instead. I never understood why Wenger wouldn't use Podolski where he would have been most effective, despite constantly going on about his prowess as a finisher. In short Wenger never got the best we could have had from Lukas Podolski.

Towards the end Podolski became more famous for his social media output than he was for playing for Arsenal. After all, he spent most of his time sitting on the bench with not much chance of getting on. He was actually treated abysmally by the Manager, along with Tomas Rosicky, and it was no surprise to see him go away to Inter Milan in January. I think his performance against Southampton in the League Cup last season marked the end of him at Arsenal in that he failed to make any impression whatsoever - he didn't look like a bloke determined to prove the Manager wrong. But following that he would win us three important points in the Champions League at Anderlecht, and then score twice in Istanbul in what turned out really to be his final hurrah as an Arsenal player.

I will remember Lukas Podolski very fondly at Arsenal. He scored good goals and important goals. He always seemed to be loving it at our Club. He simply seemed to understand how to appeal to the supporters. I wish we'd got to see the best of him more than we did, but I'll hold dear some of the fiercest strikes of a football you'll ever see. Thanks Poldi.

A stellar season

Alexis Sanchez cemented his place as a national hero in Chile last night with the winning penalty against Argentina in the Copa America Final. I might be wrong but I thought he mis-kicked his penalty a bit, but who cares? The little man has been brilliant for Arsenal this season and provided one of THE great moments with his goal in the FA Cup Final. It's great that he's rounded things off on such a high in front of an adoring home support. I want him to get a proper rest now and come back fresh for the season ahead - Arsenal need him fit and firing when he comes back. He will miss the Charity Shield as Arsene has already said he should have at least four weeks off, but that doesn't matter as long as he's ready to play as many Premier League games as possible. Well done Alexis.

 

Pre-season training starts tomorrow for a number of the first-team. All those that weren't involved in the end of season international matches are back tomorrow in preparation for the trip to Singapore. I'll write a bit about the pre-season tomorrow evening after Arsenal have published some nice photos of sweaty men starting to get back to football.