Arsenal FC

Mr Wenger is a genius and he always knows what he is doing, regardless of what it looks like from the outside.

This is what I have had to keep telling myself since the stroke of midnight on 1st September and my nail-biting, non-religious praying-like gestures and just general hoping didn't bear any fruit. I kept waiting to hear of some last-minute (reasonably) big-money signing sporting the badge and giving off the routine barely passable as genuine press smile.

It didn't happen though. Arsenal's usual secrecy in the transfer market means that you never really can tell if they are making a signing or not. All the talk was of a defensive minded foil for Cesc in the middle but what we really needed was an experienced midfielder who can do a job defensively but could also have a bit of creativity about him when the Golden Boy is out. In other words, Xabi Alonso. Whether we did or did not make a late bid is irrelevant, we should have had something wrapped up weeks ago.

Never fear though! There is deliverance from this quandry on the horizon! It comes in the form of Ghana captain Stephen Appiah! I know, not exactly a glamour signing is it? We can sign him because he is a free agent and was released by Fenerbache recently. He does kind of fill the requirements we need for a midfielder but it's not like the he's going to make a difference or anything.

Anyway, if we do sign him it will only be a stop gap and you never know, he might choose to go to West Ham or Portsmouth and anybody that chooses one of those over us is clearly not with it...