Arsenal Sign Laurent Koscielny and Barcelona Are Broke

Good afternoon from a sunny Dublin. With a painter's ladder waiting for me, I'll be as brief as possible.

First up is the shock signing of Laurent Koscielny from Lorient in France. Where did that come from and how did the club keep it such a secret from the fans and media? He's a 24-year-old centre back who qualifies to play for either France or Poland, and the rumoured transfer fee is €12 million with possible add-ons.

I'm sure he's been bought as a first choice centre back to play alongside Vermaelen, although with the boss saying that we are still in the market for another defensive signing, that could possibly change. It's been a long, protracted move, and with the boss working at the World Cup with French TV, I'm sure it wasn't the easiest thing to sort out, knowing his usual involvement in transfer deals.

Hopefully we are also in the market for a goalkeeper, as the current choice of goalkeepers isn't good enough for a team that wants to challenge for the Premier League and Champions League.

With that in mind, there were rumours and counter-rumours yesterday that we had signed Mark Schwarzer from Fulham or that the deal had fallen through. Like the Koscielny deal, this seems to have a lot of legs to it and I wouldn't be surprised to see us sign him very soon.

The boss said yesterday that Manuel Almunia is a very good goalkeeper in training, but he gets nervous in big matches and makes silly mistakes as a result. He said that there will be an announcement on the goalkeeping situation after the World Cup, and with that being only four days away, we don't have too long to wait.

I suspect that, with the boss back at the club early next week, any more transfers will move very quickly and we might well see a couple of new signings next week.

Last night at the World Cup, Spain had a thoroughly deserved 1-0 win over Germany to reach the final. Cesc Fabregas didn't get called into action yet again, and it must seem curious to him that he is seeing so little game time at this World Cup. Spain still haven't played particularly brilliantly, but they have made it through to a game against the Netherlands on Sunday night.

Whoever wins it means there will be a new name on the trophy, as neither team as won it before. I'm still cheering for the Dutch and Robin Van Persie, but it won't be easy, as Spain are a lot more pleasing on the eye.

Finally for today, it would seem that Barcelona may not have the money to even pay the measly amount they have bid for Cesc so far. They had to get an emergency loan of €150 million from the bank yesterday to pay their overheads, even though they have sold €40 million worth of players in the last week or so.

Added to that, the TV company that they have their deal with apparently has huge financial problems and they will be lucky to get that money from them.

We are still owed money by them, as well, from previous transfers, and their debt is quickly catching up with that of "Manure." It's no surprise with the amount of money they paid for Zlatan Ibrahimovich and a few others last summer.

If UEFA introduce their proposed financial controls on the game, they will be yet another club who will not meet the criteria. Maybe Arsenal's decision to spend within their means will be seen to be the correct way with more football clubs.

Here's a few goals from Alan Smith.

See You Tomorrow.