Van Persie to Captain Arsenal against Cologne ; Ryo loaned to Wigan?

With tomorrows friendly against Cologne on everyone's minds, news is rather scarce at the moment. I think we will see our strongest XI line up tomorrow in a game that should resemble the team which takes the field against Sunderland. More on the game in the preview tomorrow morning.

Robin Van Persie is no closer to signing for Manchester United than he was a few days ago, and United have not been in contact since their last bid. Reports yesterday indicated that David Gill was stepping in to speed up the process but I don't see how his arrival at the negotiating table could change anything. Its quite simple really. Give us the 25mil we want and he's yours and if you are not prepared to do that then take a jog. If Arsene Wenger gets his way Van Persie will not be going anywhere in England. If he does end up going to United or City you can conclude that the board has overruled him. He really does only have two options now though. Stay at Arsenal or go to United. Juventus's coach Conte has been banned for 10 months and I doubt he wants to play for a managerless team. And Mancini has said that he isn't going to them either, though ruling them out completely would be foolish. It is interesting to see reports saying that Robin has been included in the starting XI as captain tomorrow. Wonder what the fans will think about that.

Alex Song, who I did a piece on this morning, has reportedly agreed terms with Barcelona. What utter rubbish. Unless Barca have agreed a preliminary fee with Arsenal or we have given them permission to speak to Song, they are not allowed to go near him. I do not think we are willing to sell this summer. He has 3 years remaining on his contract and unless he really wants out and uses that infamous player power to get out, he will be here next season. I pointed out in this mornings article that we need some sort of squad consistency, especially in midfield. With Diaby virtually 'like a new signing', Santi Cazorla an actual new signing and Mikel Arteta only being here for a year, we do need somebody who has been with the club for a longer period. If Arsene and Bould give him strict orders to cover the back four, I have no doubt that he would do his duty. I feel that we wanted Song to play further forward last season, rotating with Arteta. With the right orders, Song can do a job.

Ryo Miyaichi has apparently been loaned out to Wigan. Very exciting news for the youngster. I like Martinez and Wigan's style of play. They're exciting to watch and play with pace going forward. I'm looking forward to seeing him explode onto the scene next season.

That's about it for today. 7 days until the EPL begins, can't wait.

'Till Tomorrow

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