Just seven days until I see Arsenal for the first time this season at the Emirates from the comfort of an executive box – no I’m not being snobbish, there was just an invitation far too good to refuse.

By next Sunday evening we should have a very good idea of how we will line up next season and what players there will be to pick from for the all important season opener away at Anfield, a good start is imperative so hopefully we will have the players on the pitch to reflect the importance of a good start.

Somewhat worryingly, Cesc and Robin van Persie will not return to Arsenal until after next weekend. A) They will be undercooked. B) That means injuries. C) That is not good at all. You do have to wonder how Cesc is going to deal with so much football without a decent break – the last proper summer he had was 2007, since then he has had the Euros, Confederations Cup, and the World Cup in consecutive summers. Despite not playing much in the World Cup you can rest assure he worked hard in training, so the lack of games makes no real difference.

Johann Djourou has stated his intentions ahead of the new season, he wants to start and you can see why, being at the club since he was a teenager and getting a taster of the first team in 2008 he wants that back again:

“Now it is time to step up and start, I will always say that but now I am mature enough. We will have to see with the injury because when you have it for so long it is difficult to come straight back into things. I played 90 minutes against Strum Graz and it went well. I have to get other games under my belt and hopefully I will be ready.”

You are only as good as your last season though, and last season he hardly ever played so any real reliance on him could be very misplaced. When he has played in the past I have never felt that he is your solid kind of defender, he always looked likely to make a mistake and that sort of feeling can spread, especially if your team-mates harbor the same doubts. There are some interesting comments from Arsene Wenger though, and it fits in with eye-witness reports from people in Austria to what is going on in the training sessions..

“I think sometimes we are missing a bit of aggression. It is not that we are not good enough, because the team is good enough. We have top players at the back, top players all over the pitch. It is just that we have to be stronger as a unit.”

The suggestion of using a more aggressive defensive style fills me with joy. Get stuck in, but fairly. None of the ‘just let him know you are there’ stuff – a clean crisp tackle early on will make the opposition far more scared than a lunge with a more physical threat than footballing wise.  Then you know you are gonna get a game, usually one where you get trampled all over. It is said that Gael Clichy has been flying into tackles in training, especially one against Theo Walcott – giving him a bit of treatment that is to be expected in the league is no bad thing you have to say. There was said to be a slight injury worry over Jack Wilshere yesterday after a challenge from Johann Djourou but it should be alright, its good they are playing physically, train as you would come up against in a game.

In the next week I think we can expect all the hyperbole and rumours to really kick off, the season is approaching and in twenty two days time it will all be kicking off again, and we all know the boss is a meticulous planner – he wants his squad sorting out and there have been murmurings of all dealings being concluded in the first week of August so we will have to watch and see what unfolds.

Yesterday the Daily Star ran a story about us pursuing Per Mertesacker.. I can’t see it happening though, its likely, that if we see a signing it will be a player of Premiership experience. Despite what some people may say I maintain that Mark Schwarzer is only the matter of a fee between leaving Fulham and joining the club, and Phil Jagielka is a rather larger fee away from joining us – remember we offered £6 million to Everton for him – their valuation is more around the £14,15,16 million mark. We are very much interested in him but we won’t break the bank, the same goes for Schwarzer.

Meanwhile, whilst the story on Manuel Almunia yesterday has been questioned I will freely admit that every last word is true – the information comes via a very reliable source (I can’t give intricate details of course) and even if the talks between Osasuna and Arsenal break down people will still think I made it all up. I didn’t. Its the game us bloggers play and I am one of the ones who gets decent reliable information and am not afraid to stick my neck on the line. I’ll cop the flack, Ive realised that already.

Right, enjoy your Sunday

Til tomorrow.