There's a host of Arsenal players to keep your eyes on today. While Aaron Ramsey didn't get on the pitch for Wales, backup keeper Lukasz Fabianski got the start in goal for Poland with Artur Boruc suspended? Or out of action. Regardless, they'll be much more later on today/tomorrow. Here's to a great (and boring) day of internationals, plus hoping for no injuries.

The transfer window has now come and gone. And to a bit of surprise, Wenger signed no one, although reports indicate he did make an effort to go after Xabi Alonso. In fact, the biggest signings for us yesterday were the youngsters Kieran Gibbs and Mark Randall agreeing to contract extensions.

The Alonso signing would be hard to pull off, because Rafa Benitez would be a bit off his rocker to agree a transfer fee to a direct rival without getting much more than the player is actually worth.

Well that was pretty easy. Twente didn't put up much of a fight in Wednesday's second leg, going down 4-0, and 6-0 on aggregate. A real confidence booster if you ask me, especially in light of the previous weekend's performance. Theo Walcott's finish in the second half was undoubtedly Henry-esque, so that's good.

So I just wrote this post about Senderos leaving. It disappeared. Weird. To recap my point, rumors are strongly blowing in from Milan that the Swiss defender is on his way out the door in a loan deal for the entire year, with AC Milan holding the option to sign him at the end of the loan spell. Senderos joins former Gunner Flamini, whose departure some of us are still mourning.

After the surprise signing of Silvestre this week, Wenger has revealed that he might not be done on the transfer market. He's a cunning old man, he is. And, as usual, the player will probably be someone nobody expects.

"I can surprise you sometimes, as I got one in whom you did not expect, and there still might be one more player coming in.

And the first player to transfer from Manchester United to Arsenal in 34 years is...Mikaël Silvestre.

Who on Earth saw that coming? We do make our transfers quiet, I'll give you that.

He's not our normal style of signing. He's 31. He's a defender. He's French. (Okay, that one negates the other ones.

Oh, how many good puns involving the Dutch there were to use for this.

Arsenal's in the thick of lots of Dutch action of late- we successfully defended our Amsterdam Tournament crown, and Wednesday (already), we're up against FC Twente for the Champions League qualifiers. And, coincidentally, I'm finally reading Brilliant Orange.

It's been a day of ex-players, as Arsenal traveled up to Germany to help VfB Stuttgart celebrate the renaming of their stadium (to the Mercedes-Benz Arena- Stuttgart is the home of the company, after all). Stuttgart, of course, is the new home of former Arsenal goalkeeper/entertaining character Jens Lehmann.

Burgenland- the easternmost and least populous of all of Austria's states. It's right up against the border with Hungary and was the subject of only mildly interesting territorial debates in the 13th century, and not so much since. It was also the provider of Arsenal's most recent friendly opponents.

What can you say about pre-season friendlies? Other than nothing, really. It's hard to interpret them as anything. I remember reading someone's opinion on the German team's friendlies before the Euro- if they'd won their game easily, that would be a cause for worry because it means they're not working hard enough in training.

With Gilberto on his way out the door, the welcoming distraction of the annual Barnet friendly is this weekend. Wenger has named his squad which includes the likes of Vela and Ramsey. Full list for those uninterested in following the link:

Manuel Almunia (GK)
Nacer Barazite
Nicklas Bendtner
Gael Clichy
Denilson
James Dunne
Rui Fonte
Gavin Hoyte
Justin Hoyte
Henri Lansbury
Vito Mannone (GK)
Havard Nordtveit
Abu Ogogo
Aaron Ramsey
Mark Randall
Paul Rodgers
Bacary Sagna
Jay Simpson
Rene Steer
Wojciech Szczesny(GK)
Armand Traore
Carlos Vela
Theo Walcott
Jack Wilshere

Some familiar names, some ones that I've never heard of.

The day where Alexander Hleb leaves the club may have finally arrived. He's in Barcelona for a physical, and the deal will be done. Someone over at Setanta takes a look at the impact that Hleb has had at Arsenal. I'll make a long story short: with him off the pitch, more goals were scored and more games won.

Perhaps this silly season's only loyal player, Cesc Fabregas is modeling the new away kit for next season. Funny how all the rumors from this season have swirled and yet here is Cesc in the new kit. Hopefully that means that he won't be leaving. Seriously, is there a better option for captain next season?

The rumor mill keeps on churning today, with the latest reports hinting that Arsenal have made contact with Aston Villa about midfielder Gareth Barry. I don't know much I can buy into it, but it would be a good move if Gilberto is indeed leaving. Barry could play a role similar to Flamini, with Fabregas pushing forward while Barry would play a more defensive minded role.

Much to the surprise of, well, no one, Samir Nasri completed his transfer to the Emirates today. Nice to have that one done and dusted. It could be the first of what looks to be a very busy July, with the chatter about Adebayor proving to be relentless, Hleb on his way out of town, and Gilberto Silva possibly heading off to Greece.

With it being the silly season and all, it's hard to think of things to write about. So re-hashing the same transfer rumors does me just right. Moving away from that is easy to do when the boss comes out to say that Arsenal will sell its players for the next two decades to pay for their stadium. This causes even your casual fans to do a curious head tilt, followed by a wtf Wenger?

The whole Samir Nasri business could be coming to an end. Finally. He's set to head to London for a physical, sign a contract, and then buzz off for a holiday. Can't blame him. He's been a long season, having played with Marseille and then playing - albeit very little - at Euro 2008. That stunt that Domenech pulled (subbing him in than out) pissed me off.

The Sun (a well-known source of completely made up news) reports that the shock name on Arsene Wenger's shopping list is Germany midfielder Torsten Frings. A shock move, because Frings is 31 years old and not at all the normal type of player. In fact, I'm only posting this because it's one of those moves (like Mario Gomez) that makes me happy just to daydream about.

Is what I'm doing. Continuing to twiddle my thumbs over the Nasri possibility- which, with recent quotes, is looking a bit more likely, as much as I'm loath to say much and jinx things. Maybe it'll be confirmed tomorrow, when I take off for a weekend business trip to Las Vegas. (There are worse places to go on business.

It is the silly season, and things are, well, silly. And circular. And going back on themselves and then contradicting and just generally being confusing. I suppose everyone gets bored when there's no football.

First up, the continuing saga of Alexander Hleb. I like Alex. I like the goofy faces he makes while running (seriously, he looks like a movie monster), I like the poorly-translated English on his old website, I like the way he pulls ridiculous fake-gangster poses in every picture.

Because it's fun to stoke and encourage rumors, the Nasri-to-Arsenal move is back and stronger than even. According to a number of sources, Nasri is close to signing with Arsenal. Of course, like all rumors, it must be taken with a grain of salt, seeing as though nothing official heard. And the source on this rumor is a "Marseille regional paper.

Alex Hleb says London is too noisy for him. Or Alex Hleb's agent says that London is too noisy for him.

This is getting totally ridiculous.

The season is over. And as it was last year, the press is endlessly discussing on how Arsenal is imploding and how we're going to lose all our players. Arsenal fans themselves are fretting about who's going, who won't come, and there's a pessimism that I don't even recall being around last season this time, despite us doing far, far better.

The season is over. And as it was last year, the press is endlessly discussing on how Arsenal is imploding and how we're going to lose all our players. Arsenal fans themselves are fretting about who's going, who won't come, and there's a pessimism that I don't even recall being around last season this time, despite us doing far, far better.

And that's the end of that. A pretty ho-hum victory over Sunderland. The only goal game from Theo Walcott, who was played in by Gilberto. Great pass, great finish. Hopefully those two will be have a consistent present on the pitche next season.

There isn't much to say from the game. Perhaps Abby will mention it - although I don't know of many people who actually watched it.

And that's the end of that. A pretty ho-hum victory over Sunderland. The only goal game from Theo Walcott, who was played in by Gilberto. Great pass, great finish. Hopefully those two will be have a consistent present on the pitche next season.

There isn't much to say from the game. Perhaps Abby will mention it - although I don't know of many people who actually watched it.

I'll admit the last week has been rough. All that I've posted are rumors of this player or that player leaving. I'm done with the negative - at least for this post. Time to bring in some good news about player movement, along with a quick few thoughts about the close of the season.

Before mentioning anything on Sunderland, to the transfer market we go.

I'll admit the last week has been rough. All that I've posted are rumors of this player or that player leaving. I'm done with the negative - at least for this post. Time to bring in some good news about player movement, along with a quick few thoughts about the close of the season.

Before mentioning anything on Sunderland, to the transfer market we go.

With the news of Flamini leaving now coming from the foremost news source, Arsenal took care of business in a particular unconvincing fashion. It was an interesting game more than it entertained, with the only goal coming from a powerful header from Dane Nicklas Bendtner. That brings his tally to nine on the season, a decent showing from him.

The latest report states that Flamini has agreed to a four year deal with Milan. Hopefully, this is for real and the whole thing can be put to bed. It came down to money in the end, as Milan were willing to pay more than Arsenal. Wenger wasn't willing to break the bank to keep him around, and as much as it hurts to lost a player like that, Arsenal couldn't match the €5.

With Flamini now supposedly off to AC Milan, it's time to admit what has been inevitable for the last few months. Arsenal loses a player of unquestioned toughness and grit to some team in the Serie A. Best of luck to him, and I guess in the end money talks. Flamini had a great season and despite missing the last few weeks through injury, it's hard to be anything but appreciative with the way he played the tough guy role in defensive midfield.

Sadly, another meaningless game. Unless of course, both Chelsea and Man United lose all their remaining games. If that happens (odds are about 1 in 10000000000000000), Arsenal wins the league - assuming winning their remaining games. Since that isn't going to happen, I'll focus on today's match against the already relegated Derby County.

Alexander Hleb has been suspended for three games for 'violent conduct', aka bitch slapping Graham Murty of Reading. I recommend you pop over here to see the video, augmented by Murty's reaction. I'm not criticizing just him, but players need to cut that out. Stop fishing for cards. Murty looks like he's a bit tougher than that.

Now that the season is all but over for us, just about everyone has been busy focusing on the next one. And I'm not exempt from that 'everyone' either- I always find transfer rumors endlessly entertaining, even if they're a bit far-fetched. Or especially if they're a bit far-fetched. Depends on how long the transfer season's been going on for.

So at least one of Arsenal's main performers this year has renewed his contract. Unfortunately for my liking, it's Manuel Almunia and not Mathieu Flamini. Almunia says he wants to finish his career at Arsenal, which is fine. He's been fine. Better than I expected since taking over the starting spot, but I continue to be not entirely unconvinced.