Three C's

- Chamakh. He's now officially an Arsenal player. He'll provided needed depth in our forward line. Chamakh was one of the best players in Ligue 1, and that's not a backhanded compliment. From what I've seen, he's a bit of a link player as well. Granted, his strength is his post play and his leap, but he can play a passing game as well. That may end up being very important for us. I thought one of our crucial flaws last season was the fact that we had nobody who could replace Robin van Persie in our system. I'm not suggesting that Chamakh is a false nine, but he's probably a better fit for it than Arshavin was.

- Cesc. If Cesc wants to leave, fine. He can go. But as one of the biggest clubs in the world, we cannot settle for less than 45 million pounds in a summer where James Milner may be sold for 30 million pounds. I don't know what kind of position Barcelona think they have, but it's very weak. All they have is Cesc's desire. It's a good starting point, but they have nothing else. Xavi and Laporta can whine all they want to the press. They have no power. Cesc has four more years, and that's really the bottom line. Barcelona are 400 million euros in debt. They spent nearly a fifth of that money on Zlatan Ibrahimovic, jettisoning Eto'o (a true warrior and winner) in the process, and Dimytro Chrygrynsky. Not very wise moves, you can conclude. They want to include Hleb as part of a swap deal? Are these jokers kidding?

This whole situation kinda reminds me of when Kobe demanded to be traded from the Lakers. Kobe had only a few teams he wanted to be traded to, and he could veto any trade. On the other hand, the Lakers were only going to trade him if they got a king's ransom for him. Eventually, the Lakers front office held firm, a young player developed into a key player (Bynum), the team stepped up, and then traded for Pau Gasol. After a run to the NBA Finals, the trade demand was rescinded and it looks like Kobe will finish his career as a Laker. Looking at that, we can view Cesc's desire in another way. It's a wake up call. It's time to see more consistency from our players. It's time to see Wenger splash the cash he now says he has. Cesc will not take it as far as sulking on a bench if he doesn't get his transfer to Barcelona. Wenger will have the opportunity to show Cesc that we will win trophies. But let's make it clear, no player is bigger than the club.

- Champions League Final. I predicted that Inter would knock out Chelsea and Barcelona. I cannot confidently say that they'll beat Bayern. In fact, I think Bayern will edge it on penalties after they finish 1-1. I just feel as though there's not much between the two sides, and as Wenger has pointed out, Bayern is "scoring goals for fun". Keep in mind that Howard Webb is the referee. That means English style refereeing, and that probably favors Mourinho.

Master vs. Pupil. Sneijder and Robben, the Real Madrid rejects. Eto'o's redemption. The underrated Olic. The Black Italian. Wingers. This game is well worth watching.