Now begins the dawn of false hope.  People will be hanging on to the internet news wires this morning hoping that the club announce a subtle transfer deadline coup.  Looking for signs that the deal for Alonso was secured at the 11.9th hour.  If this is a case then Wenger will be hailed as a cagey maestro, conducting his business to his own tune in an unlit auditorium and without the orchestra of the press.

Sadly, such an image is all too unwarranted as I suspect without even a sniff of rumour this morning that Wenger failed to get his man. Unsurprising really given Benitez's inclusion of Xavi in his Champion League qualifier, the injury to Gerrard and the fact that if we could not meet Liverpool's valuation then it didn't have legs anyway.

So what now?  Well Wenger will be villified by so-called fans, who, like previously spoilt children are all too keen to howl their frustrations and discontent at their frugal guardian.  But have we been spoilt?  Is Wenger in command of more than just the untouched transfer pot?  Does his degree in economics give him an insight into the fooball market place that other clubs are blatantly ignoring?  Is he right to go no further than a £14 million bid?

 Whatever the answer, we are now resigned to live with the squad as it is, at least until January...

I don't have a crystal ball, so cannot say, but what do you think?

 What I find particularly disgusting though is the hyperbole from Sky this morning talking about the drama of yesterday's activities and how Sky Sports News was at the centre of it.  Drama?  I'm not sure where these morons were schooled, but if a madman shouts crazily at the top of his head all day on a crowded street, is that drama?  He, of course, is the star of his own show, but only those who choose to stop and stare in disbelief are truly his audience.

We won the league (we won the league), on Merseyside (on Merseyside), we won the league on Merseyside, we won the league at anfield, we won the league on Merseyside.

We won the league (we won the league), in Manchester (in Manchester), we won the league in Manchester, we won the league at old trafford, we won the league in Manchester.

We won the league (we won the league), at white hart lane (at white hart lane), we won the league at white hart lane, we won the league at the shithole, we won the league at white hart lane.  

We've won the league an awful lot of times when compared to 92 other top flight clubs.  We've also been lucky enough to rub those victories into the faces of our main competition and our rivals for the title in that season, oh, and at white hart lane too.  We have also done it unbeaten.  We also have the second best FA cup winning record of all time.  While we are at it we are among a handful of British clubs that have had at least two European successes.

We are more than capable of achieving these things again.  So what if we didn't do it last season, or even if we do not do it this season?  What we have is tradition, history and time and again the club we support have proven themselves as winners.  We are winners, not whiners.  True gooners should not have to be reminded of these things.

We practically invented the modern game, or have been at the forefront of its development (floodlights,  televised matches, heated changing rooms, post match warm downs, etc, etc).  Off the pitch we conduct ourselves with more class and panache than most of the other clubs plying their trade across Europe.  It is one of the reasons that every transfer we ever conduct is announced as an undisclosed fee.  We have traditionally run away from the pack, broken our own ground and set trends as opposed to following blindly the activities of others.  We are consistent in our history.  We haven't been a 'flash in the pan' for the last decade or so, or a product of the current billionaire owners trend.  Quite  frankly, that is something to be proud about.  I also think that it has more worth than any once in a blue moon trophy (no dig intended, Citeh).

As a club we plough a lone furrow, but as furrows go it is one of the best and the crop is consistently reaped because of it.

I cannot think of a single reason why we should now want to start emulating the short termism that has bitten a host of other clubs.  Why would we want to jeopardise our very history and make an enemy of our future.  Yes it is frustrating at times that we do not seem to be competitive in the transfer market, but I am struggling to think of a season since '95 when we were not competitive on the pitch.

If you dont like it or are not prepared to carry this legacy as an Arsenal supporter/fan/follower/whatever you call yourself, then I suggest you stop, take a few deep breaths, take a few minutes to consider what it is you want out of life and then fuck off to another sport; preferably one that involves a loaded gun, a hair trigger, a dirty barrel, a dodgy cleaning kit  and an overly inquisitive eye.

So, the Grauniad are reporting that Barcelona are going to offer an improved £30 million bid (yes that is GBP) for Adebayor, who cost us £4.2 million some 18 months ago.  If this does happen, and I think it shouldfor what Adebayor has said, then surely the mark-up on value has to be some sort of record.

Will he get 30 goals for Barcelona though?  I fear the worse there.  Tee hee.

Obviously Arsenal will bank the £30 million and use it to pay for lunches for visiting directors.  Afterall we don't really need to spend.

Finally, there is a rumour on he internet that we may be signing some player from some French club today.  His name is Samir Nasri.  What bag did we pull that one out of I wonder?

Hmmm, it seems that newsnow have decided that four Premiership clubs deserve their own differentiated "Top Rated sources" feed, as opposed to their normal 'my god it's full of shitty made up crap from some major media organs' feeds.

I wonder who decides whether and how they are 'top-rated sources'.  I also wonder if it is time I got in the shower and ready for work, too.

Anyway the four clubs are Arsenal, Mancs, Scousers and Spuds.  Spuds I ask you!  Although I suppose they are linked with every player out there all the time.  How the hell do they rank their 'top-rated' sources too (no I don't have a scooby either.)

The only redeeming feature of silly season is the pure entertainment available on the myriad of blogs (no less this one, I hope). You can try and fight against it, be rational, pretend it isn't happening and for the most part that is what the majority of us do. But on some days you can take a deep breath and plunge right in to the maelstrom and who knows where you will end up.

 Usually, it's a pure fantasy world of championship managers, buying, selling, experimenting with formations, on the wind up and ready to kill if the next piece of transfer news is not exactly what they want to hear. I guess it is what makes them tick.