First game of the season, having to make the long trip up north away to Newcastle. After last seasons second-half capitulation, this by no means was going to be an easy three pointer.

With Samir Nasri, and Cesc’s imminent departures and Wilshere out injured we knew before the game that we would be short in the creative department. The game finished 0-0 with Song, Gervinho and Joey Barton the main talking points of the 90 minutes. For all those Arsenal fans who think that out lackluster style of play hasn’t changed since the end of last season, I couldn’t disagree more.

We surely have to see the glass half full and not half empty after this first game. The day before the game all the Arsenal players “officially” said their goodbye to their captain and best player, Cesc. This no doubt was going to have some kind of influence on the players’ state of mind. Nasri (who is still an Arsenal player) and Wilshere were missing out due to “injury”. You take those two players away from most teams and they will struggle to create chances. We had the memory of lat season, 4-0 up at half-time, only to be pegged back to 4-4. Psychologically this would influence the players, as professional as they may be, they are also human beings.

Newcastle didn’t even manage a shot on goal that I can recall in the entire 90 minutes. Match of the Day didn’t even show one attack. Now considering the frame of mind the player were in going into the game, to put in such a solid performance was very pleasing. I haven’t seen Arsenal so solid at the back in a long time. Considering how we ended last season and the way we have defended in pre-season I was bricking it on Saturday before the game.

I for one would much rather us have a solid back-line and use our attacking flair to sneak 1-0 or 2-1 victories as United and Chelsea seem to do so well. Had we been given the penalty we deserved from the Gervinho incident, and scored it we would have taken the three points.

I am fed up of being renowned for playing such attractive football, I want us to win titles as that is what makes us fans happy. You don’t see the fans out in the street parading the way we play football. It might have just been a one-off game but I really do hope that with Cesc now officially a Barça player we will set up in a more solid way and protect our back-line and defend more as a team.

This takes me onto my next point for today…

Cesc

The day has finally come and it is time to say bye to Cesc. I can vouch for all Arsenal fans when I say that we all knew one day or another he would move back home but until this weekend and today, it hadn’t properly sunk in. The feeling of losing our captain, our best player and what everyone says, a top guy, is painful, very painful. I know this is an over-exaggeration but it has felt a little like somebody close has passed away.

The first weekend of a Premiership season is normally my Christmas day. I am so excited after a whole summer of no football that the game we so love is back. For the first time in my life I felt like crying that the season was about to start without our talisman, hard to understand why he is bailing out on us at this stage of his career.

Cesc has gone and we will miss him dearly. His numbers are incredible. The number of chances he creates in a game is unbeatable. However, The Arsenal moves on. The number of chances Cesc has created over the years will now have to be spread out between Wilshere, Ramsey, Rosicky, Arshavin, Gervinho etc. We are in a similar scenario to when Henry left, the players took on more responsibility and the season post-Henry we did pretty well.

Having watched his press-conference today I can ow accept closure and a part of me wants to wish him well on his new adventure, although I now hate Barça too much for that. He was very honest with his declarations today. The real reason he is leaving Arsenal is to play for the team that he always dreamt of playing for as a kid, the team that didn’t believe in him like they did in Messi and Iniesta. It was pretty obvious that he wants to go back to prove some people wrong, those that were unsure about his dream to become an established player at Futbol Club Barcelona, which is the reason why he moved to Arsenal in the first place. With the success and the team Barça have you cannot blame him for wanting to go back now. My only “worry” for him is that he is basing his decision on a dream he had as a kid, and things change. I don’t think he will ever be loved as much at Barça as he was by us Gunners. I don’t think he will ever be as important for them as he was for us. He may realise this when he is back into his routine at Barça and he wouldn’t be the only ex-Arsenal that would want to be back in North London after thinking their future was better away from the club.

Who knows, we might just have to start a campaign to bring back Cesc. For the next three years every Arsenal player and manager should talk about what a good player Cesc is in every press-conference, how he suits the way Arsenal play football, how he has unfinished business as Arsenal captain not having won anything etc. etc. If we do this for three years non-stop we might get him back for a cut price.

Thank you Cesc for your wonderful memories, you will be dearly missed and never forgotten. I hope the door will always be open if you want to come back.

Life after Cesc

Tomorrow is the most important game of the season, not just for financial reasons but it could be disastrous to start the season not playing Champions League football after being in the competition for so many years on the trot.

We always seem to flourish in the Champions League qualifiers and I am quietly confident about tomorrow. We are playing against Udinese and although I don’t know very much about them, I have read that they have lost a few players from last season, most notably Alexis Sanchez to our new friends.

What we really do need tomorrow to ensure the players put in a great performance is for the fans to get behind the team. It is clear that the players and the manager heard the criticism they received on Saturday against Newcastle and this no doubt affects them (as I said before, they are human beings). Let’s get behind our team, hope a lot of productive work is going on behind the scenes to bring in some decent players and finalise the sales of some of the players that are just making up the numbers at the moment. Against the odds, this could be a season to remember, and for the right reasons.

Goalkeeper

Last season this was the position that needed strengthening. We made bids for Mark Schwarzer but failed to agree a fee with Fulham. Manuel Almunia started the season as number one and if you compare his position at the Club a year on it couldn’t be any different. We have been assured Almunia is talking to other clubs so he is definitely on his way out. That leaves us with three first team goalkeepers: Wojciech Szczesny, Lukasz Fabianski  and Vito Mannone. I think Szczesny will be our number one this season. He has a very bright future but it is still very early to say he is world class. I really do hope he stays fit all season as I am not too keen on Fabianski as his back-up.

OUT: Manuel Almunia – 1million

Right-back 

Bacary Sagna is first choice and I think that replacing Emmanuel Eboue as his back up was necessary. Carl Jenkinson has been the chosen one. Young and “British” (as well as finish), from what I have seen in pre-season I have been impressed. Apart from that extra-ordinary own goal he has seemed solid at the back and comfortable on the ball going forward. Eboue also seems to be on his way out and although he seems to be an influential figure in the changing room and a cult-hero with some of the fans, on the pitch he is a liability. The home game against Liverpool last season sums up his time at Arsenal, very eager but no brains. He is the kind of player that could get sent-off for something stupid and leave us with our backs against the wall. Although it will be sad to see him go for the relationship he has with the fans, I think on the pitch Jenkinson will make us more solid when called-upon.

IN: Carl Jenkinson: 1million

OUT: Emmanuel Eboue: 3.5million

Left-back

We have moved on our first team left back last season to one of our main rivals. Sounds disastrous but in actual fact it is not. Kieran Gibbs has the quality to replace Gael Clichy, I have no doubt about it. My only issue with Gibbs is he is injury prone. Clichy was also injury prone before he replaced Ashley Cole as the first team left-back so if that is anything to go by Gibbs will be ok playing more regularly, although he is already apparently ruled out for the first game of the season. I don’t see Armand Traore as a good enough replacement. He has been a bit-part player at Arsenal for too long and considering Gibbs’s injury record it looks like Traore will be playing a decent chunk of games this season and we will not win the Premiership with Traore at left-back. I know Arsene Wenger won’t go out and buy a new left-back, he has already confirmed it. BUT in an ideal world, I would. Jose Enrique is in the same situation as Gael Clichy was with us, in his last year contract. I think he would be a very decent signing, we still have time to hijack the Liverpool deal. Solid at the back, quick, good on the ball and decent going forward. He would give Gibbs some decent competition.

IN: Jose Enrique: 5million

OUT: Gael Clichy: 7million, Armand Traore: 1.5million

Centre-back

The first word that comes to mind when I relate the word centre-back to Arsenal is vulnerable. I don’t think that signing one centre-back will solve all our problems. What I do think is that we need a leader at the back, a Tony Adams figure that can orgainse the team from the back. Thomas Vermaelen has the characteristics to do the job but considering he has only had one proper season in English football and has been out all of last season I think we need another player to be first team centre back with him. I think more than anything the main problem we have at the back is communication. Just think back to the final of the Carling Cup against Birmingham last season, a little bit more of communication at the back would have surely put an end to all this no trophy malarky in the past 6 years. You see John Terry and Rio Ferdinand playing for our rivals and they seem to be shouting at their team-mates all game, you don’t see that happening at the Arsenal. There has been talk regarding Phil Jagielka, Gary Cahill and Scott Dann. We have been assured that we will be getting a new centre-back. If Arsene Wenger doesn’t sign a centre-back I think that these London Riots will be nothing compared to the reaction of Arsenal fans, we need a centre-back that badly. Who will it be? I have no idea and knowing Arsene Wenger it will probably end up being somebody on the last day of the transfer window and somebody who wasn’t even linked to the club. I hope it will be Gary Cahill. As back ups we have Laurent Koscielny, and Johan Djourou, who I rate both very highly but need to be playing with someone commanding. Sebastien Squillaci needs to be moved on. If we do sign a new left back we don’t have to depend on Vermaelen to fit in at left back so with four centre-backs we should be fine.

IN: Gary Cahill: 15million

OUT: Sebastien Squillaci: 1million

Centre-midfield

Our captain, Cesc Fabregas has his heart somewhere else. Although he has been the hub of our team for the last few years, if he has his mind somewhere else, we should cash in and invest it on improving the squad. I truly believe that his replacement should be Scott Parker. Experienced Premiership player, technically good and has very good leadership and communication skills (exactly what we need). He is not the type of player Arsene Wenger would buy as he is in his 30’s and will have very little sell-on value (West Ham are asking for 8 million). I think that for 8 million he would be a bargain for what we need. Apart from Parker we would have Jack Wilshere (I would play him as the most advanced player in our middle 3 to replace Cesc’s position) and Alex Song as the holding midfielder. As replacements we have Aaron Ramsey, Abou Diaby (when he is not injured), Tomas Rosicky and Emmanuel Frimpong (who I think has a really bright future, from what I have seen in pre-season this guy will make the Stoke players look like boys).

IN: Scott Parker: 8million

OUT: Cesc Fabregas: 40million

Wingers

Just like the situation with Cesc Fabregas, if Samir Nasri is not willing to sign a new contract and commit to the club we have to show him the door, especially if one of our main rivals are willing to pay 22 million on a player in his last year contract. Obviously he would need to be replaced and the player we have been linked with to replace him is Juan Mata. He would be a great addition to the squad. If we do sell Nasri it goes without doubt that we would need to invest that money in getting a player to replace him. Regarding other wingers, we have brought in Gervinho, who looks to be replacing Nicklas Bendtner who is on his way out. I am pretty happy with that swap. Obviously we still have Theo Walcott and if he can continue to progress from last year and stay injury free I am expecting a big season from him. We have recently purchased Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain and Ryo Miyaichi, two players with lightening pace and a very bright future. I would like to see them as back-up wingers this year and get some experience. Although they are not ready yet to be playing week-in week-out I think they are more than capable of being impact players for the time being. I would also send Carlos Vela out on loan, I still don’t think he is ready to be an Arsenal first team player but he needs games. With the amount of wingers we have I would also be reluctant to let Andrei Arshavin move on. He hasn’t really fulfilled what all Arsenal fans expected when we signed him and is a very hot and cold player, and most recently a lot more cold rather than hot.

IN: Juan Mata: 22million, Gervinho: 10.5million, Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain: 12million

OUT: Samir Nasri: 22million, Nicklas Bendtner: 8million, Andrei Arshavin: 7million, Carlos Vela (loan)

Striker

At the moment (considering Bendtner and Vela are on their way out) we only have two proper strikers, Robin Van Persie and Mouran Chamakh. RVP is brilliant and was amazing for the second half of last season. He will probably be our captain this year and will score a lot of goals. As with other players, his only problem is injuries. Chamakh started last season really well but ever since then hasn’t looked great. I think we need a quality striker who is going to guarantee us 20 plus goals a season and provide RVP with good competition and cover when injured or he needs to be rested. It is no co-incidence that Arsenal’s number 9 shirt is not taken. I would invest the money from Cesc in signing a top notch striker, preferences would be either Samuel Eto’o or Karim Benzema.

IN: Karim Benzama: 35million

OUT: Jay Emmanuel-Thomas: 2million

That makes it 108.5 million in expenses and 93 million coming in which means we are only 15.5 million short. Considering we have a budget of 40 million for this summer we are within our limits. Now these are just my thoughts and I am looking at things in an ideal world. The reality is the season starts on Saturday and I don’t think we will have signed any new players before then but it is looking likely that Cesc’s and Nasri’s future might be sorted out pretty soon which will give us some time before the 31st of August to find replacements.

In reality I think we will get rid of Eboue, Bendtner, Almunia, Nasri, Cesc and Vela (loan) and we will buy a centre back and somebody like Juan Mata to replace Nasri but I really cannot see any more faces apart from these two coming in.

Cesc’s imminent departure has been circulating the spanish media every day since the previous season finished. If the latest rumours are to be believed his house in London is for sale.

It’s not the first time that Barça have pressurised Arsenal into selling their best players. I remember Thierry Henry being linked with Barça for three summers on the trot before he finally made his move. Cesc was also very close to leaving Arsenal last summer but Arsenal stood firm to keep him on board. Although I am pretty sure that this summer the deal will go through.

Barça are under-pricing as much as possible (offering 29 million) whereas Arsenal are obviously trying to ask for the maximum amount of money possible (45 million). They will both have to finally come to an agreement and he will probably end up leaving for about 37 million. If he is going to go this summer it is in Arsenal’s best interest to get the deal over and done with pretty promptly so that we can concentrate on replacements and pre-season without our current captain.

So we need a replacement. Scott Parker. A leader, a quality player who will always give 100%. Arsenal have not won a trophy since Patrick Vieira left the Club and I don’t think it is a coincidence. We have never really replaced him. He was our captain, a true leader and as hard as nails. I remember one game against United at Highbury he was willing to take on the whole United team which included Jaap Stam and Roy Keane.

Scott Parker fits the bill. We should sign him up and hand him the captaincy armband straight away. As great as Cesc has been for Arsenal, he is not a leader and has found it difficult to captain us at his tender age. Scott Parker is an inspirational player, spoken so highly of by his teammates at West Ham and can have a really positive influence on players like Jack Wilshere and Aaron Ramsey who I have no doubt will be future Arsenal legends.

Parker definitely won’t get as many goals or assists as Cesc has done in the past few seasons. Football-wise I think other players (like Wilshere and Ramsey) will have to take more responsibility to lift their game to replace the opportunities Cesc creates but I think Parker can give them the lift they need.

He did have a spell at another so-called big club a few years ago (Chelsea) and it didn’t really work out for him but I think that was because he was surrounded by players with big egos. I think the current situation Arsenal are in would suit him perfectly.

Signing Parker goes against Arsene Wengers principles, spending money on an established Premiership player (in his 30’s) as they tend to be over-priced. If we want to win trophies this deal has to go through and we have to move quickly otherwise he will get snapped up by one of our rivals.

The focus today is on Gael Clichy, the last member of the invincible team, the Arsenal team that went unbeaten throughout the entire 2003-04 Premiership season. The most disappointing thing about selling Clichy is that he has come through our “youth system” and was given a chance to play in our first team at a relatively young age and when he is reaching an age were players start to mature he has decided to leave.

He was in his last year of his contract at Arsenal and according to Arsene Wenger he was a player we didn’t want to lose. If reports are to be believed City have offered him 65k a week and he was on about 55k a week at Arsenal, which doesn’t seem to be a big difference (for a footballer anyway). For a player to move from Arsenal to Manchester City the only reason can be money. Surely he doesn’t really think he has more of a chance to win the league at City than at Arsenal. It takes years to build a team capable of competing at the top year in year out and City are pretty new to this.

The bottom line is that Wenger wasn’t willing to match City’s offer which means he didn’t think Clichy was valuable enough to stay. I for one certainly think that Clichy has been a liability at times for Arsenal. He was to blame for giving away a penalty in the last minute against Birmingham City which ended in a 2-2 draw in the 2008-09 season which was the beginning of our downfall that season after leading the table for many months. He was also to blame for the goal we conceded against Barcelona in the Champions league second round game last season which we won 2-1, playing David Villa onside unable to play the offside trap. That away goal ended up being the vital goal which meant we got knocked out.

So, who will be playing left-back next season? When Cashley Cole left Arsenal for what can be considered similar reasons (money), Clichy took his place, and did quite well. We have a similar replacement in Kieran Gibbs. The only problem being that he is the most injury prone player at Arsenal, and that is already an achievement in itself! He has the ability to replace Clichy and go on to be a better player. I watched him play very closely last season when he occasionally played in Carling Cup and FA Cup games although he seemed to be playing with his brakes on, or maybe just cautious of picking up an injury. He first came into the team in the 2008-09 season and really did look a decent player with some very impressive performances.

With Gibbs probably only being able to play about 10 games next season due to injury we need to ensure we have another player who can replace Clichy. Armand Traoré is returning to Arsenal this season after a loan spell at Juventus but if we want to be challenging for the title next season I don’t think we can depend on him to be playing most of our games at left back. Another option that has been mentioned is Tommy ‘hard as nails’ Vermaelen playing at left-back but I don’t think that would be a good alternative. His best position is centre-back and was truly missed there last season so we need to ensure we can get him back in the centre commanding the back four again. All the top teams have energetic full backs that can defend and at the same time get forward giving their team an outlet (Evra, Alves, Roberto Carlos, Cole), it is something I cannot see Vermaelen doing.

Two other options that have been circulating the papers are José Enrique of Newcastle and Leighton Baines of Everton. Either would be good signings and I think would strengthen us defensively. I especially like what I have seen of Enrique, a very powerful left-back that also has a touch of class. He is also in his last year of his contract at Newcastle so there should be a good chance of us getting him on board.

So, it is over to you Arsenal. Us fans need a statement of intent. If you want us to believe we will be challenging for the title next season bring us a replacement for Clichy and please not somebody like John O’Shea.