Nothing. Nada. Zero. Zilch. Nil. Naught. Nothing. Oh, I already said that. Sorry.

The only remotely Arsenally thing going on is that England are playing Croatia tonight in what should be quite a good match. Hopefully Theo Walcott will get a another chance to start for his country. It will be very interesting to see how he performs in such a big game for England and I’m looking forward to it. Not that I will be getting up at 5am to watch it though.

Aside from that, I have nothing to say - so I’ll leave you today with a particularly controversial Wednesday Poll. Enjoy.

Who would you rather fire out of a cannon?
	The Spanish Media
	Cristiano Ronaldo
	Sir Alex Ferguson
	Rafa Benitez
	Wayne Rooney
	Roman Abramovic
	Robinho
	Emmanuel Eboue
	Alexander Hleb
	Tom Cruise
Web Polls

PS. If you’d like to see a particularly funny photo of the person I’d like to see fired out of a cannon click here. Heh heh heh.

Have your say on who you’d rather see fired out of a cannon by voting in the poll or leaving a comment.

On some levels it makes sense. The current Arsenal squad is in desperate need of experience at the back and a 31-year-old centre-back with bags of European and Premiership action under his belt fits the bill perfectly. Add the fact that he is French and you can definitely see where Wenger is coming from.

But it does seem odd to me that the third or fourth choice centre-back at Manchester United would want to move to their closest rivals when a similar position on the bench awaits. Does he just want a new environment or does Wenger actually see him as the first-choice partner for William Gallas at Kolo Toure’s expense? And what of Johan Djourou and Philippe Senderos in the meantime?

Too many questions and not enough answers at this stage, so I’ll wait for the move to be confirmed before saying any more about it. Either way it’s a bizarre piece of news on an already crazy day.

While the acquisition of an experienced central defender would be a pleasant surprise to Arsenal fans I still believe it pales in comparison to the need to find a defensive midfielder. Just last week the manager promised that he would be making a signing in this position before the second game against FC Twente and that admission has got me thinking about just who it might be.

Originally I was convinced that it would be Xabi Alonso, but his appearance for Liverpool against Standard Liege means he would be cup-tied for the Champions League - an unacceptable situation for a club like Arsenal. Now it is Udinese midfielder Gokhan Inler that seems the most likely candidate with rumours of a move refusing to go away.

However, a fresh name that came to my attention this week was that of Stephen Appiah. Indeed, the Ghanaian captain has quit at Fenerbache after falling out at the club making him - in his own words - a free agent. He’s had some health problems at late but Appiah remains an outstanding player and it wouldn’t suprise me if Wenger took advantage of this situation to bring in the ex-Juventus midfielder.

Now I want to make it 100% clear that there has been nothing in the media suggesting that Arsenal are going to sign Appiah. No rumours, no links, no kids in Ghana creating their own blogs saying that it’s already a done deal. I just think that even if Wenger was not previously interested in Appiah he would have seen what has happened at Fenerbache and might make the most of the situation.

My advice? Watch this space. And get ready to hear me say “I told you so” if it happens. Just joking.

In other far less tantalising or enjoyable news, Samir Nasri has gone and got himself injured training with the French national team. The thigh strain may see him miss the game against Fulham and if he does, I might just have to write an angry letter to Sepp Blatter telling him how much I hate International Friendlies. I won’t post it to him, of course, but just writing the letter should calm me down a bit.

Completing a quite bizarre day are comments from Tomas Rosicky predictably stating that he was misquoted yesterday, some words of encouragement from the manager with regards to Theo Walcott and the news that Nacer Barazite has gone on loan to Derby County.

Now onto the Wednesday Poll. I was going to use the poll to look at whether people thought Johan Djourou should keep his place ahead of Kolo Toure but with the news of the potential transfer of Silvestre I couldn’t refuse the invitation to change tact. Let me know what you think.

How would you feel if Silvestre signed for Arsenal?
	Relieved - we’d have the defensive cover we need
	Thrilled - put him in the starting side!
	Pissed off - he’s over the hill and not good enough for Arsenal
	Don’t really care
Web Polls

That’s it for an action-packed day. I look forward to reading some very interesting comments.

Have your say on Silvestre, Appiah or the other Arsenal news by leaving a comment.

First up, young Wilshere. I hastily mentioned in yesterday’s post that the 16-year-old Englishman has been rewarded with a spot in the first team this season by Arsene Wenger. Wilshere was given the #19 shirt vacated by Gilberto Silva as a result of his stunning pre-season performances.

As Neil Banfield - coach of the Arsenal reserve team - states:

“Jack was given the opportunity by the manager to go on the Austrian Training Camp, along with five others who have all done really well. Jack has taken his chance, and he is one of quite a few we have here that we have high hopes for.”

It’s another great example of the message that Wenger tries to put across that if you’re good enough, you’re old enough. And everything we’ve seen thus far suggests that Wilshere is more than good enough.

A couple of the Arsenal blogs have cleverly pointed out that with the new ’seven substitutes’ rule coming into effect this season it could be the perfect platform for Wilshere to make a name for himself. Either way, the inclusion in the first team squad should be a huge pat on the back and boost of confidence for a kid who is still yet to finish school. Well done to him.

Next up today are some comments from everybody’s favourite braid-wearing right-back, Bacary Sagna. The Frenchman has been speaking about Arsenal’s chances for next season as well as the impact that new signing Samir Nasri could have for the club. In his own words:

“Samir is a very good player and we are lucky to have signed him. I have played alongside him in the French national team. I believe he will show everyone he can play very well and will find his place in the Arsenal team.”

My personal opinion is that Nasri is going to fit in a lot quicker than people think. There’s little doubt in my mind that with Tomas Rosicky still recovering from his surgery Nasri will start the season as the first-choice left-winger and I think he’s going to do a mighty fine job. I’m not expecting miracles, just consistency, and I think the Frenchman is definitely going to be up to the task.

Now the bit you’ve been waiting for… the Wednesday Poll. Hurrah! I try to keep things interesting with regards to the poll and again I’m quite happy with this one. Observe:

Has Adebayor won your heart back yet?
	Yep, most definitely.
	No, still got a lot more to do.
	He’ll never win my heart back!
	I never had a problem with him in the first place
Web Polls

That’s it for today. Just on the off chance that you’re interested in what movie I’m off to tonight it’s a Brazilian flick called ‘Mutum’ that I’m watching at the Brisbane International Film Festival. I’ll let you know if it turns out to be any good tomorrow.

Cheers!

Have your say on Wilshere’s promotion, Sagna’s Nasri comments or the Wednesday Poll by leaving a comment.

Tonight sees Arsenal’s first really interesting pre-season game against Jens Lehmann’s new club Stuttgart. Arsene Wenger is expected to field a fairly strong squad against a side who won the Bundesliga just two seasons ago. They will put up a good fight and it will see how Samir Nasri and Carlos Vela go if they are selected.

I’m not sure whether I’m going to watch the game - a 5.15am wake in Australia for a pre-season game is not exactly my cup of tea - but if I do I’ll be sure to give my opinion on it tomorrow. If not I’ll be checking out the highlights when they become available on the Arsenal wesbite and have a say on it regardless.

One player who has not yet featured in any of the pre-season games thus far but could well start against Stuttgart is Robin van Persie. You certainly won’t need to be told that the Dutchman has spent a great deal of time on the sidelines in the past two seasons. But to his credit, van Persie is viewing the new campaign as a fresh start and hoping that he can have a more consistent impact for Arsenal this time around:

“This is a new year with new chances. Hopefully I can be injury-free this year. Last year I played 16 games and scored seven goals — that is nearly one out of two. It is not too bad. I just want to have the same results this season with a few more matches.”

It’s an interesting point he makes about his goals-to-games ratio. As he says, 7 goals from 16 games is pretty bloody useful and if he can double (or triple! - wishful thinking?) the amount of games he plays then all of a sudden that is looking like quite a handy figure. Especially if Emmanuel Adebayor has another 30-goal season which he surely must be aiming for.

Whether van Persie does get goals or not the simple fact is that if he can remain fit for the bulk of this season then he will have a huge impact on Arsenal’s chances of winning silverware. He is arguably the most naturally gifted player in the side and his mere presence on the pitch makes opposing managers and players worry that little bit more.

He looked sharp for Holland at the Euros and hopefully he can continue that form into the start of the season. Glory beckons for Arsenal and van Persie if he can pull it off.

In other news today Arsene Wenger has been chatting about how highly he rates 16-year-old Jack Wilshere.

I must say that if the confidence he has shown in the first two games of pre-season are anything to go by then young Wilshere could be set for big things at the club. However, as the manager points out, he still has a long way to go before he can be relied upon by the first team. A lot will be down to the attitude and dedication he can shows on the training ground and out on the pitch when he is given the chance. Good luck to him though.

To finish off today’s post is the Weekly Wednesday Poll. And here it is:

Who would you like to see start alongside Cesc in central midfield?
	Aaron Ramsey
	Abou Diaby
	Alex Song
	Denilson
	A new signing
Web Polls

It’s a pretty interesting one, I reckon, and I’ll be very keen to see the final results. As always, I’ll let you know what they are in tomorrow’s post.

Enjoy the Stuttgart game if you get to watch it. Go Arsenal!

Have your say on Arsenal v Stuttgart, van Persie, Wilshere or the Weekly Poll by leaving a comment. 

As with the game against Barnet, it was a mix of first-choice and reserve-team players who started the match as Mexican striker Carlos Vela finally made his debut, playing alongside Nicklas Bendtner up top. Gavin Hoyte joined his brother Justin in the centre of defence, while Aaron Ramsey again started in the centre of the midfield and 16-year-old Jack Wilshere began on the left.

Despite an intimate knowledge of who started the match (thanks Arsenal official website!) I did not get to see the game and have very little to say on how we played, save for the goals scored by Theo Walcott and some fellow from Zombie-Bath-Eye.

Young Theo must have been reading the blog yesterday because the finish he provided was exactly the sort of thing we are all expecting of him this season. It was like a little message to the readers of this blog to assure us that, yes, he is ready to rumble. Or maybe I’m just deluded?

Anyway, the next pre-season fixture will see Arsenal take on some club called Burger Land XI (or something) on Monday. Hopefully the boys can keep their hands off the burgers and knuckle down on their fitness training this week and put in a good performance against Ronald McDonald, Grimace and The Hamburglar.

In other news today Thierry Henry has been speaking about Arsenal’s chief troublemaker, Emmanuel Adebayor. The Frenchman praised Adebayor for his excellent season last year but also admitted that the Togolese striker needs to make up his mind up about where he will playing soon.

“The only thing I can say is that he had an amazing season last year. Whenever you have a season like he had a lot of teams are coming to get you. It is up to him in his mind. I can’t talk for him about what his choice is going to be.”

Henry is right, Adebayor did have an amazing season last year. And he’s also right in saying that when you have a season like Adebayor has had it is bound to attract the interest of the biggest clubs in Europe.

But what he fails to add is that Adebayor should respect that the reason that he had such great season in the first place; because of his teammates, his manager and perhaps most importantly, the club. Without these three working so well Adebayor would not have had the season he had last time around and for that reason alone I think he should repay the faith that Arsene Wenger and the club have put in him and stay.

Samir Nasri has only been at the club for about five minutes and even he can understands the stability that Wenger and Arsenal provides. Speaking about the manager in particular:

“He represents stability and continuity. We understand we can work on the long term with him. It means the world. I was looking for that kind of guarantee to advance my career. I didn’t want to go to a club, even a legendary one, where everything could change from one day to another.”

They are wonderful comments to hear from a new player. It’s clear the lad has his feet firmly on the ground and understands the advantage that a club like Arsenal has over the Barcelonas and Real Madrids of the world. Hopefully Adebayor can wake up and understand that before he makes a decision he regrets.

That’s it from me. It was a pretty scattered post today, I have to say. Apologies for the mayhem and try and enjoy yourselves.

PS. Almost forgot the Wednesday Poll! This week it’s about our good friend Adebayor and whether or not you think he will leave Arsenal or not. Enjoy!

Will Adebayor stay at Arsenal?
	Yes
	Yes - but I don’t want him to
	No
	No - but I want him to stay
Web Polls

Have your say on the draw with Zombie-Bath-Eye, Henry, Nasri or Adebayor by leaving a comment.