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

Not a lot going on this week, as you would expect given that the international break is just beginning to crank into gear.

The club announced their 25-man squad for the season, but like many other clubs it doesn’t actually contain the full quota of 25 players. Instead, the club announced a 20-man Premier League squad. Make of that what you will, but looking on the bright side it means that there is still room in the squad for a few more experienced players, preferably in January rather than next summer.

The full squad is as follows:

It’s interesting to see Armand Traore included in our list of selected u21 players given that he has joined Juventus on a season-long loan, likewise for Nacer Barazite who joined Vitesse Arnhem on loan. One can only assume that there is a recall clause included as part of those deals should our customary injury crisis strike.

Looking at the attackers listed in the first 25, it is a bit depressing to see that we are already down to just having Chamakh fully fit. Fingers crossed that he stays in one piece until we can get both Van Persie and Bendtner back to full fitness. It’s also interesting to see Mannone picked ahead of Szczesny. Granted, both are relatively inexperienced but I would have thought that the latter’s spell out on loan last season would have helped him edge ahead of Mannone for the third choice keeper birth. Though I suppose it doesn’t really matter all that much as he can be selected as an u21 anyway.

Apart from the announcement of the official squad for the season, there isn’t a lot going on. For those interested, Cesc is now on Twitter and you can follow him at @cesc4official

That’s about that. News is painfully slow in international weeks, particularly when the transfer window is also closed. Still, at least there is no more speculation on who we won’t sign.

Take it easy.