The North Bank – “It’s got va-va-voom” (An Arsenal blog)

It’s been quite a while since my last post. In that time, the Emirates Cup has come and gone, we have played two league games (the 1-1 draw with Liverpool and the 6-0 trouncing of Blackpool) and, of course, we have also had our first injury injury of the season with the news that Nasri is out for the next month or so. Gallas has signed for Spuds and you must admit that he will fit in nicely with all of the other tools in their squad.

The signing, or proposed signing, of Squillaci is still ongoing and things have gone a bit quiet on that front, it must be said. But, there is no point in stressing over it. If it happens, it happens.

Today sees the Champions League group stage draw taking place and all we can do is hope that the Gods of football draws smile upon us and don’t give us a trek to deepest Russia in late November. I’ll be crossing my fingers that that particular treat is saved for Spuds.

In other news, the club’s biggest shareholder, Kroenke Tonk Stan, has completed his 100% purchased of the St. Louis Rams. This now gives him a team in all of the major sports franchises in the U.S. However, following the takeover, control of two of those franchises will pass to his son, these being NBA’s Denver Nuggets and the NHL’s Colorado Avalanche.

It’s hard to know what to make of this move, in terms of what it means to Arsenal and the power structure within the club. The one sure thing is that it continues the trend of Kroenke Tonk Stan having never sold a share in a team that he has invested in. It’s clear that he is a sports man and it is also clear that he will do things in his own way and to his own schedule.

In unrelated news, I see that Messi has asked Liverpool to act humanely with regard to the transfer of Mascherano, which leads me to believe that they have been squirting shampoo into his eyes and testing other assorted cosmetics on him. Though they could just be making him watch videos of their league campaign from last season… He is the type of player that we need to be trying to sign and doing so would allow Song to slot into central defence when needed.

I see that some people are calling for the club to sign Steven Taylor and to be honest I would not be impressed if he was the central defender that we signed before the closing of the window. I have always disliked him immensely and I would prefer if we didn’t sign a player know for his theatrical overacting. Though, being English, I am sure he would get an easy ride in the press for that. But, I will be praying that he never wears an Arsenal shirt. I’m not saying that he is a bad player, I’m just saying that I don’t like him.

The manager’s weekly press conference will be taking place a little later today and I am looking forward to what news he has with regard to transfers and team news ahead of the trip to Blackburn this Saturday.

Okay, it’s just going to be a short one today. Given the break since my last posting, it’s going to take a while before I regain my blogging fitness. Take it easy.